Avatar : Bad Blood
by UH-60 NIGHTSTALKER
Summary: Just because the war was over did not mean that the world was at peace. And for the Fire Nation, the war will finally hit home.
1. Chapter 1

_**Prologue.**_

It had been 15 months since the end of the _Hundred Year War _and the 3 remaining nations of the world were now well into the process of rebuilding there shattered nations. The _Northern Water Tribe, _long isolated from the world due to the war, reopened their ports and trade routes with the rest of the world. Not to mention, re establish ties with there brothers and sisters at the south pole and were now currently helping with the reconstruction of a number of their villages. They had even begun construction of a new settlement that would be come he new capital city for the now united _Southern Water Tribes. _A city that would be called _"Kya City". _With their borders now reopened and trade and commerce starting to come in, the economy of the Tribe, which had begun to stagnate due to their isolation, was now beginning to grow and strengthen as a result. The _Southern Water Tribe _as well began to prosper as well. A century of war, coupled with countless raids by the _Fire Nation, _had devastated the tribes that dotted the south pole to a point where almost all the water benders went extinct. But with the end of the war, coupled with the assistance they were now getting from the north, the few villages that remained were now growing into small towns. Not to mention, with the help of the north, both water bending and water healing were now being taught and for the first time in years... the south pole now had water benders of there own.

The _Earth Kingdom _too, devastated by decades of war, was now beginning to recover as well. A massive re forestation effort, lead by _Avatar Aang _himself had begun and large swaths of land that had destroyed by the Fire Nation over the years. While a massive reconstruction effort had begun in a number of Earth Kingdom cities that had been devastated after years of Fire Nation occupation and life had was now returning to a normalcy that had not been seen in over a hundred years. Especially those that had been occupied from the very start of the war. Trade was now beginning to flow in between the cities of the Earth Kingdom, as well as trade between the North and Southern water tribes and the money that was now beginning to flow in was put to good use in both reconstruction, as well as giving those cash that had lost every thing during the war. But even thought both the _Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom _were pulling themselves from the ashes of war, there was one nation that seemed unable to shake the stigma of the war that it started all those years ago.

The _Fire Nation, _with a new Fire Lord and with a new peace was now left with the problem of having a large military and no war to fight with it. A hundred years of war and conflict had left the Fire Nation with an abnormally large military, not to mention, an economy that was war based in general. With no war and with a large military, _Fire Lord Zuko _set about the unenviable and difficult task of restructuring the Fire Nation's economy before it cave in on itself and collapsed. Not to mention, rebuild the reputation of a nation that had for the last hundred years, raped and pillaged a world that still considered the Fire Nation as an evil, demonic society that only only knows hatred and malice. A reputation that Zuko's father and Grand Father, took great pride in building. Even though Zuko had sent diplomatic missions to both _Ba Sing Se and the Northern Water Tribes _in an attempt to re establish tied with those nations, he had yet to receive any word that either were interested in having diplomatic ties with there former enemy. But then again, Zuko was not very hopeful that they would. Thanks to his father and grand father, the rest of the world had no reason to trust the Fire Nation and will have no reason for a very long time indeed. Horror stories about the brutal Fire Nation came from all over the world and could fill volumes of books if they were ever put to page. But some of the worst came from P.O.W.s that had been released not to long after the war's end told of unspeakable torchers, beating, even rapes at the hands of their captors and of how they enjoyed what they did to others.

Stories like these and more traveled all over the world, cause a already strong Anti-Fire Nation sentiment to grow even more and pic up steam and even though Zuko said that he intended to punish all those who had committed such crimes, it did little to quell the anger of the world at large. There were many that thought that the policy of _"Forgive and Forget" _that was adopted by the nations of the world only benefited the Fire Nation alone and that they were getting off easy as it were. But all Zuko could do right now was hope that he and his friend Aang could convince the world that the Fire Nation was no longer the enemy and that they were now committed to peace. But unfortunately there were many who did not think that the Fire Nation was truly sorry for what it had done and would not rest until the Fire Nation truly knew the horrors of war. And unfortunately... they would soon have there way...

**_Chapter 1: A Nation Burning..._**

Located on one of the many islands that made up the Fire Nation archipelago, was the village of _Wu Tong. _At the beginning of the Hundred year war, this once sleep fishing village was transformed into a major naval base/ Ship repair facility due to it's location at the very end of the island chain. Warships from this port launched the first incursion into the Earth Kingdom and for the next hundred years, ships from here took part in a number of major campaigns all over the world. All for the glory of the Fire Nation. Wu tong also became a major way point as well for vessels both leaving and coming to the Fire Nation. As a result, the sleepy village into a major military hub with a large village that catered to the personnel that were either stationed there or were just passing through. But once the war was over and Zuko became Fire Lord, all that soon changed. Since Zuko planned to revamp the economy by down sizing the military, many a naval instillation were either down sized or closed down all together, depending on how important they were. But since Wu Tong had proved itself to be too valuable to be closed, the base and in comparison, the small town that had built up around it was spared the brunt of Zuko's budget cuts. But the Military presence on the island was scaled back greatly and what was once a busy naval base of thousands, was now just a quiet barracks of just a couple hundred.

Most of the naval ships that once crowded the small bay were gone, only a few small cutters remained . The last naval vessel to pass through was an old coal carrier named _"Rock Fish", _and it was on it's way back to the Capital city to drop off some solders returning from another base that had been closed down. And the only other naval ship there was a battle ship named " _Shozin's Glory" _that was there to have some repairs done. But most likely it too would soon be decommissioned and scrapped like many others.

Inside one of the many look out towers that dotted the water front, a lone solder by the name of _Lee Hue _looked out over the vast ocean in front of him. The son of a business man, Lee had joined the navy months just before the end of the war, thinking that with the fall of the Earth Kingdom capital city, it would be only a matter of time before the war was over and the Fire Nation was victorious. So imagine his surprise when the war ended and the New Fire Lord called for the end of hostilities. Any hope of becoming a war hero and being there when the Fire Nation crushed its enemies were crushed and now he was now stationed at an naval base that was more of a ghost town than every thing. Sure the town was a welcomed distraction from his boredom, but he longed for the glory days of the war when the Fire Nation was at the height of it's power. As he sat there with his eyes glued to the horizon, a small black shape soon appeared. At first he was not sure what it was, but as he continued to watch, the shape of a Fire Nation Navy vessel soon made it self clear to him...

"SIR!" Lee called down to his commanding officer that was at the bottom of the tower, " Are there any Vessels due in today?" he asked.

The officer, named _Iszumo, _took a moment to check the roster to see if any vessels were due that day "Um... the _Northern Path _is supposed to come into port. But she is not due till tomorrow. They must be trying to get in early." he reasoned.

"That or they found out that we got that new shipment of Fire Wine." Lee joked, as he continued to watch the vessel approach. "Man, they are really in a hurry."

"Try to signal them." Iszumo called up to him. Sighing a little, Lee took up to signaling flags similar to those that are used on board ships to signal to one another and began to use them. But the was no response. The ship just continued to steam forward towards them. He tried to signal them again ant tell them to slow down, but still there was nothing...

" They aren't slowing down sir." Lee informed his commanding officer. " What you mean they are not slowing down?" Iszumo asked, "Try signaling them again!"

"Sir, they are not responding!" Lee cried, as he saw the ship get closer and closer, "They going to ram the Dry Dock!" he screamed, as she soon realized just were the ship was headed.

"What! I'll alert the barracks! alert the other watch towers!" Iszumo yelled, as he began to run down the hill and back toward the Navy base, while Lee used his fire bending to alert the other towers that something may be up.

Meanwhile at the dry dock itself, both naval and civilian personnel were all milling around the the area, either doing work on the Navy vessel that was currently in for servicing or were just being solders and protecting the vessel from an threat that no longer existed. As they were doing their duties, they all heard a commotion coming from the upper levels of the dock. They saw all the workers as well as the solders on the upper levels looking at something, but what they did not know. Their curiosity soon turned into panic when some one sounded the alarm and they saw every one above them begin run away. Thinking that they was danger near, the men in the dock began to run towards one of the many ladders that lead out of the dry dock. Just moments later, the shape of a ship's bow became visible and the 2 massive doors that kept the water out came crashing down, sending in a massive wall of water flooding into the dock. Many of the workers did not stand a chance, the torrent water came in with such a force, it crushed every thing and ever one in there. Many of them did not even get a chance to drown. They never knew what hit them. The force of the water rushing in was so great, the the battle ship that was already in there was lifted off it's support struts and slammed into the dock wall. Knocking a number of men off the ship as it did. Then, another ship, the reason for the collapse of the dock doors, came crashing in with its smoke stack still belching black smoke and slammed "head" first into the other end of the dock. Wedging it self between the dock and the other ship there. Then, as suddenly as the commotion began, it was done. The only sound that could have been heard was the rumbling of the ship's engine as it continued to drive the massive vessel forward into the dock.

Meanwhile, the entire towns people had been alerted to what had happened and were now getting ready to either go and assist in the eventual rescue and recovery operations, or were getting ready to take care of the eventual deluge of injured personnel that would soon be flooding the local medical facility. But as rescue personnel began to flood into the dock area, a massive explosion ripped open the hull of the new vessel. Vaporizing the entire mid section of the vessel instantly and sending a massive fire ball in all directions. Engulfing the entire area in the process. The heat was so intense, that a near by bunker that held the gun powder that was on the "Shozin's Glory", went up in a massive fire ball as well. The fires soon began to spread, as near by buildings began to catch fire while the boilers that powered the many stream powered cranes in the yard exploded as well due to the extreme heat that was being created. Sending hot steel into every direction. It did not take long for the fires to spread into the near by town and begin to engulf every thing and every one there. All the towns folk could do was either try to control the rapidly spreading fire, or head for the safety of the nearby mountains and wait until the fire burned it self out. But at the rate the fire was burning, it would be a very long wait indeed. And for many of the survivors... it would be a painful wait, as they saw there lives and love ones go up in smoke and flames...

The smoke rose high into the air and could be seen from miles around, as fires raged on in Wu Tong. It would be hours be days before the flames finally burned itself out and where a small city had once been... there was now nothing more than burned out buildings and and scorched earth. As well as a population that only had one question on their minds...

"Why...?"

_A/N__: Okay... that is just the first chapter but it will not be the last so stay tuned. Please R&R if it is not to much to ask and feel free to give suggestions. It will be welcomed. _


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2 : Actions and Reaction**_

__A lone air ship glided through the cool night air on its way to its destination. The craft, named " _The Redeemer" _was one of the very last air ships that were still in service with the Fire Nation Military. At the end of the war, _Fire Lord Zuko _chose to disband the newly formed Fire Nation Air Force that was founded under is father's regime, as a part of his new money saving programs that he had en acted. But Zuko still saw the value of having air ships and decided to keep 3 of them in service but under his direct control. His plan was to show that airships could be used in the future as a viable mode of transportation and other non militaristic uses. Normally, the Redeemer would be used to Transport Zuko to meetings, gatherings and other engagements around the Fire Nation. But today that was not the case and even though Zuko was on board, this would be far different that any engagements that he had gone to since his rise to the throne as Fire Lord.

It was only a few day ago that the news of the tragedy at Wu Tong Village reached him via messenger hawk. To say that Zuko was stunned and horrified by the news he got would have been correct. In the letter, he was given a brief summery of what had happened and within hours, Zuko had ordered his personal air ship to be loaded up with aid and supplies, as well as other items and be ready for launch. He had also allowed news of the disaster to be known to the public and almost immediately, people bean to hold small memorial services to morn the dead. The very next day, Zuko along with a small contingent of Solders left on board the Redeemer and now they were just an hour away from touching down. But nothing could prepare Zuko or any of his men for the carnage that awaited them...

It was a clear night as the Redeemer approached Wu Tong. From his vantage point on the bridge, Zuko could see the bright amber glows of the many fires that still raged in the distance. Proof that what was said in the letters were very much true. If that were the case, then the supplies that Zuko had brought with him would do little to aid his fellow country men on the ground. He could only hope that the 4 navy vessels that were already en route from the capital with even more aid and supplies would arrive sooner than the 2 days that it would normally take them to reach from the capital. As he looked on, one of the men on the bridge yelled... " White Bison off port bow!". The announcement got Zuko's attention and as he looked, he saw the very familiar shape of a large white Bison with 6 legs, a large flat round tail and a large arrow on it's furry head. Then, Zuko saw some one jump off of it's back, deploy a small glider and fly towards his ship. "I see that Aang got my message." Zuko muttered to himself, as he then excused himself and made his way to greet his friend. Just before Zuko left the capital, he had sent a message to Aang who was in the Earth Kingdom at the time. In the message, Zuko informed Aang about the incedent and asked if her could do any thing to help in the rescue effort that was now taking place on the island. Within moments, Aang was on board the Redeemer and he was warmly greeted by Zuko.

Aang had not really changed all that much since the end of the war. He still wore the the same garb as he did back during the war when he traveled around the world with Sokka and his girlfriend Katara. The only real change that any one could notice was that Aang had gotten a bit taller and was almost the same height as Zuko. Ever since the end of the war, Aang soon became the main driving force behind a number of projects, both political and social, that were intended to help the world recover from the the war that is was so trying to forget. That was why he was in the Earth Kingdom when he he got Zuko's message...

"Aang, I am glad to see that you could make it my friend." Zuko said, as he went up and shook Aang's hand.

" Good to see you too Zuko. Though I wish that the circumstances were a bit better.? Aang said with a bit of remorse in his voice. The 2 young men made their way to Zuko's private quarters and began to discuss the situation at hand... "So what happened? You said that there was some kind of accident?"

"Sorry Aang," Zuko said with a sigh, " But I was in a hurry to leave when I got the news. A few days ago, a naval vessel, The Northern Path, was heading in to Wu Tong for repairs when some how it rammed into the dry dock. There was a massive explosion and it caused a domino effect as it were. The report came to me from the Admiral that was in charge of the base."

" So what do you think cause the vessel to ram the dock?" Aang asked his friend. " The Northern Path was one of the older vessels still in service in the Navy. I think that there was some kind of mechanical failure on board the vessel and the crew lost control of the ship. There was a similar incident last month when another vessel's boiler exploded because of lack of maintenance."

"So this could be just another case of mechanical failure?" Aang asked. Zuko just nodded. " But what I am really afraid of that this incident would be just what some ministers back in the capital need to prove their point that the cuts I had made to the military budget were a mistake and that the military should be left alone."

"Don't they realize that your cuts is what preventing the economy from caving in?"

" I am afraid that they do not see it like that." Zuko replied, " As for as they see it, they believe that still having a strong military is the key for a strong nation and maintaining"

"Even though that it is the same military that is crippling he economy?" Aang asked, " don't they know that if they keep all they are doing is hurting there own people?"

" I guess not. Many of them are still strong supporters of my father. They only reason that I have still kept them on as advisers is because they all have pull in the political arena and they have experience." Zuko replied. " I do have my supporters though but they have little pull and are not as seasoned as the others . Their only saving grace is that they do have many supporters in the population compared to the others."

All Aang could do was let what Zuko had said sink in. Even though the world was at peace, there were still many out there that still did not believe that true peace could be achieved through peaceful co-existence and understanding. But for the Fire Nation, it would be far worse. Aang was very much well aware that the Fire Nation was still very much untrusted in the world and if the Fire Nation was to prove that they were truly committed to peace, there would have to be sacrifices made. But building up a military during peace time was not the way to go at all. Even in the Earth Kingdom, Aang had heard a number of persons in both the Earth Kingdom government and the military that still considered the Fire Nation as a threat to their nation and there were even rumors that some of them even wanted to invade the Fire Nation on grounds that it was to prevent them from ever being a threat to the world again. Now there was no way that Aang could confirm if any of those rumors were true, but it was a harsh reminder that he had a long way to go before he could bring back balance to the world's 3 remaining nations. Within an hour, the Redeemer along with the Avatar's flying Bison, Appa, touched down in what was left of the village of Wu Tong.

To say that they were all taken aback by the destruction there would have been a gross understatement. The brunt out shells of buildings still smoldered , while the air was thick with smoke and the sent of burnt flesh. Evidence that the structures there were not the only thing that was destroyed in the fire storm that had taken place just days before. Yet in the distance, the dark of the night was illuminated with the amber glow of the fires that still raged on the outskirts of the town. Quickly, Zuko ordered his men to begin to off load the supplies from the the Redeemer and Appa , while Aang went of to assist in the fire fighting operations that were still going on. As this was going on, Zuko along with a small escort, went off to meet with the Admiral that had sent him the message about the incident. Within minutes, Zuko had arrived at the made shift office and command center that had been set up and was now in meeting with the commander of the Naval Base...

"It is a complete disaster." _Admiral Xin_ told the Fire Lord, as he stood over a table which had a map of the village and the naval base on it. " The entire dock area has been completely destroyed. Over 80 % of the village has been destroyed. We are still battling fires in the southern districts of the town. I swear if that explosion had not most likely killed that blasted crew... I would of !"

"What about the casualties.?" Zuko asked the Admiral, as he too looked at the map. Xin just sighed heavily and said... "Getting accurate information has been difficult. But early reports suggest that the death toll has reached over 1500 in the dock area alone. The civilian population fled into the mountains as soon as the fire began to spreed. We not sure just how many made it though."

" I see." Zuko said. Even though the admiral tried hi best to keep a stern face for the Fire Lord, Zuko could still sense the anger and regret in his words. This disaster happened on his watch and he was helpless to stop it. Zuko then ordered some of his men to head into the mountains with the aid that they had brought . He knew that it was not much, but it was all he could do until the other ships came. He just hope it would be soon.

For the next 2 days, Zuko and his men, along with the Aang assisted where they could. Rescue and recovery operations continued non stop, sometimes they would find some one that survived while other times... the person was not so lucky. Aang managed to put out the remaining fires and soon joined in the recovery effort. Soon the 4 vessels that were also carrying aid arrived and the survivors were soon getting the treatments that they so needed. And there were many in need. Soon , they were able to tally up the the cost of the disaster and what they came up with was grim indeed...

The Dry dock and the naval base was completely destroyed, as well as 80% of the village that lined the out skirts of it. The infostructure was completely destroyed and the town was left uninhabitable . But most of the, the human cost was the most horrific. Out of a population of 15000, over 4500 were dead with another 6000 suffering major injuries such as smoke inhalation and severe burns through other their bodies. After surveying the extend of the destruction, as well as having discussions with both Xin and the surviving villagers, Zuko came to the grim conclusion that the Village of Wu Tong, as well as the naval base and dry dock, would not be rebuilt. The cost to do was just too great and it would have just be a lot more cost effective just to relocate the villagers and close the base. At first the surviving villagers were opposed to this plan to relocate them, but soon they all realized that it was all for the best. The planned evacuation would take place as soon as possible, while Zuko decided that he would the injured back with him to the capital on board the Redeemer. It was a small comfort for the victims, as they already knew that as soon as they left the island, they would never return. Return to a place they at one time... called home.

As news of the _"Disaster of Wu Tong"_began to spread across the world, many people shocked at just the scale of the incident. But soon the shock faded and was replace with something one would not expect from such news. Jubilation. The news that an entire Fire Nation Village had been destroyed and that the reason for it happening was because of one of there own ships, lifted the spirits of many a Earth Kingdom citizen and water tribes men. Many even began to think that it was the spirit world punishing the Fire Nation for the crimes they had committed , a sort of divine justice if you would. There were even small celebrations in some Earth Kingdom towns and villages, thanking the spirits for such a tragedy to occur in the Fire Nation. But to a few persons in the world, the spirit world had nothing to do with such an act and that they themselves, were responsible for such an "Divine" act of justice...

_**(Some where in the Earth Kingdom...)**_

A lone hooded figure sat at the table inside the tavern. In front of him , a single candle lit up the area where he sat in a soft amber glow. Just one of many similar candles that lit up each table in the tavern. Normally , the place would be packed with numerous person that were either be enjoying the drinks that flowed freely at the bar for the right price. Or just enjoy the company of either their friends, or that certain some on in their life. But now it was late in the night and most of the taverns costumers had gone home. The only ones there were the bar keep, who was now wiping down the counter top, and the lone figure at the table. Who was just sitting there and periodically taking a sip from the cup of cactus juice that he had. Soon, his attention was turned to the sound of some one entering the tavern and when he looked, she saw 2 more figures and that they to were dressed in dark brown hoods like him. The man motioned to the bar keep, who saw him and went into a back room. When he was gone, the 2 new figures went over to the first man and sat with him as they began to talk...

" Our operation with the Fire Navy vessel was a undeniable success." the first one said as he continued sip his drink."

"Indeed, "the second man said, " the capture of the vessel went smoothly and the crew never knew what hit the until it was too late."

"Excellent." the first one said, " and did you 'Deal' with them as planned?"

"Yes... they have been... dealt with." he said with a slight grin. " and the destruction of the dock went well. But the destroyed town was just a bonus. They won't soon forget that."

"Neither will the world." the third man added , " the people celebrate with us on our success as well."

"I know... there was a small celebration in here just a few hours ago." the first one replied. "And soon, they will have more to celebrate. This my friends was just the beginning. There are still many in the Fire Nation that believe that the war was their country's 'Golden era'. They believe that what they did was all for the glory for their nation. And when the war ended, they got off easy and went back to their lives. Meanwhile the rest of the world is still struggling to rebuild. They don't know the horrors of war. But we my friends will make sure that they never forget the crimes that they did. And by the time we are done... the Fire Nation will know pain and suffering like we do."

The other 2 men cheered at the first man's statement, as they sat there in the tavern. They stayed there for an hour or so discussing a number of other topics both personal and other wise. But soon, all 3 men got up and left the tavern, each leaving a small bag of gold for the bar keep, before exiting the Tavern and heading off into the night...

_**A/N: **__And that is the second chapter for you. I ask every one to please review and feel free to give me any ideas on what you would like to see in this story. Positive reviews are very much welcomed. _


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **__And I just want to thank Kimjuni and BlueLion for there reviews. They had let me know that this story is worth writing . __**Thank you, **__now on to the fic... _

_**Good News on a Bad Day...**_

A couple of months had passed since the events at Wu Tong village. Now called the _"Disaster at Wu Tong." _by the rest of the world. True to Fire Lord Zuko's words, the surviving villagers were evacuated and were relocated back to the Fire Nation main land. It was not easy though going though, many of the villagers were not to eager to move. Especially since all of them had lived there all their lives and had known Wu Tong as their only home. But eventually they all realized that it was their only option and within a few days after the end of the recovery efforts, the remaining 9000 villagers were evacuated and the Naval base that had so been apart of their lives for the last one hundred years was closed down. Wu Tong village was no more. But Zuko was not about to forget the people of Wu Tong and he knew just what to do. Since the military had been down sized, a lot of land became available to the general public, and since the villagers were mainly farmers, Zuko allocated up to 8000 acres of land to the villagers to be used as farm land. It was not much, considering what they had gone through and lost. But at least they would now have the chance to rebuild there lives and make a living. Or at least that was what Zuko hoped. There were plans to eventually rebuild the destroyed base and dry docks, but with the current state of the Fire Nation's economy, it would be a long time indeed before any work could even begin. The best he could do for now was leave a small detachment of solders there to deter any one that would think to loot or salvage any thing that was left.

But all that was at the back of Zuko's mind, as he sat behind his hard wood desk in his personal study. For there were many other items on his mind that needed his full attention and right now, like his nation's shaky economy. Though the cuts he had made in the last 2 years had managed to ease the strain on the economy, it did little to change the economic outlook of the Fire Nation. The plain truth was, that the Fire Nation economy was in danger of stagnation and default if they did not establish trade with the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom and get some income flowing. That was why just one month ago, the young Fire Lord sent out a number of trade delegations to both the _Northern and Southern Water Tribes, as well as the Earth Kingdom _in an attempt to open up trade with them . The plan was show that the Fire Nation was ready to forget the pass and that they were ready to open up trading relations with them. But Zuko was not very optimistic about this, for even though the Fire Nation was willing to forget the past, many in the world were not and were still very much reluctant to have any form of relationship with there one time enemy. Zuko sighed heavily, as he sunk into is seat. He knew that he had a up hill battle ahead of him when he became Fire Lord, he just did not think it would have been so stressful. As he sat there, her heard the door to his study open... " How are you feeling, Zuko?" … a woman's voice said. When Zuko looked, he saw the very welcoming form of his girl friend, _Mai. _

The daughter of a Fire Nation politician, _Mai _had grown up around nobility and especially the Fire Nation royal family. Where she met and soon fell in love with a young Zuko. But she had kept her feelings for him to her self for a very long time. It was only coming down to the end of the war did she finally allow herself to show Zuko just how much she really felt about him, when she helped him escape the _Boiling Rock Prison_ by confronting Azula and allowing him time to get away. But it was only on the day of Zuko's coronation that the 2 of them restarted their relationship and they did so with a kiss just right before the ceremony. It was the happiest day of her life. Now at days , Mai lived in the palace with her love and even though they were not yet married, they were very close and it was not uncommon to see the 2 of them together. She was even called _'Lady Mai' _

" Yea.. I'm fine. Just a little stressed out." he replied as he rubbed his temples. " Just need to take a little rest that's all." Mai just nodded and walked up to him. Where she proceeded to sit down on his desk.

" Zuko... you have been pushing yourself to hard lately." She said, as she leaned down to him, " You need to take a break. Maybe a few days at Ember Island could do you some good?"

"But how can I ?" Zuko said, as he looked into her amber eyes. " Just how can I when there is so much that needs to be done? When I became Fire Lord, I vowed that I would rebuild the nation and ensure that the people would prosper. That I would show that the Fire Nation was dedicated to co existing peacefully with the rest of the word."

"So what's the problem? You prevented the economy from caving in on itself by down sizing the military. You showed that you were nothing like your father when you paid reparations to the war victims. You even managed to gain the respect of a number of the politicians in the government. Including my father. Not to mention that you have the support of the majority of the population."

"But it is not enough." replied Zuko, " The economy is still in danger of collapse ans we need to start trading with the rest of the world soon or we could be in some serious trouble down the road. How am I going to pull this nation up when the rest of the world wants us to be down?" Mai was soon at her lover's side and wrapped her arms around him, before she said...

"Zuko... I am not going to lie to you. The world is going to continue thinking like that for a very long time indeed. But it is the fault of the your father and grand father. Not to mention that sister of yours." she said the last part with venom. " The point is that your are taking on the guilt that should be felt by them and not you. The reason they think of us like that is because of them and not you. You are nothing like your father and you have proved it just by doing what you are doing. Yea the world will think that we are monsters, and they may think that way for a very long time. But you are trying to show that we are not, and that fact alone is noble."

" You know... you sound just like Uncle..." Zuko said with a small smile.

"Really?" Mai replied, a small smile creeping across the normally emotionless face. " Well then... can he do this...?" she trailed off, as she leaned even closer and planted her lips on to Zuko's. To which he he returned the kiss. Normally, the kiss would become more passionate and usually end in the bed room. But a knock on the door soon prevented things from getting to steamy. With a heavy sigh, the 2 would be love birds separated and straightened up them selves, before Zuko called for who ever it was to enter. Soon, one of the royal messengers came in an bowed to Zuko...

"Your Lordship," the young man said, " a message came in addressed to you." Zuko just motioned for the messenger to hand him the scroll. When Zuko looked at it, he saw that the message was from on of the trade missions that had been sent to the Earth Kingdom just one month earlier. As if expecting bad news, Zuko opened the scroll and began to read..

_' Your Lordship..._

_It is my great pleasure to inform you that our trade mission to the Earth Kingdom City of Gaoling has been a complete success! _

_On our arrival into the city, we were greeted by the city elders. As well as a number of local business men at the city entrance. From there, we were entertained at the city center by the elders and some of the business men. Who all showed interest in doing business in the Fire Nation. They have even gone as far as announcing that they will be sending a trade mission of their own to our nation within the next 3 months. _

_We shall be returning home as soon as I send this message. _

_-Respectfully, Yue Jong.'_

A small smile crept across the Fire Lord's face... " This is truly great news indeed!"

"What? What is it Zuko?" Mai asked her boyfriend. " It seems that some in the Earth Kingdom are willing to forget the past after all." Zuko repiled, as he handed over the scroll for Mai to read. And when she did, she said... " You see, people are beginning to move on and this little success proves it."

"Yea I guess," Zuko said, as Mai came in and wrapped her arms around his neck...

"Give them time," Mai said, "Sooner or later the world is going to realize that you really are trying to make things right and that what you are doing is for the benefit of every one and not just the Fire Nation."

All Zuko could do right now was let what Mai had just said sink in and he had to admit... she was right. Yes it would be a long time before the world could ever trust the Fire Nation, but sooner or later, the world would realize that the Fire Nation was truly dedicated to peace. He may not be able to do so in his life time, but at least he would be able to push his country in the right direction. That was his only thought, as he took Mai's hand and exited his study.

_**( Earth Kingdom)**_

_Yue Jong, _along with the rest of the Fire Nation trade mission, had not too long left the city of _Gaoling _and their spirits could could not be any higher. The former army captain and diplomat had just completed a successful meeting with not just the Gaoling city elders, but the business community as well and things could not have gone any better. After some very lengthy talks and discussions, Yue had managed to convince the elders, as well as the business men that opening trade with the his nation would greatly benefit both their peoples greatly. Obviously, there were those that were not to thrilled about doing trade with the Fire Nation, but they were soon silenced when the majority of those gathered there agreed to open trade relations with the Fire Nation. Now with the visit to Gaoling a success, there was only one thing on the diplomat's mind. And that was to head back to the Fire Nation and be reunited with his loving wife and child. But the group had a bit of a walk ahead of them. Seeing that Gaoling was located in a mountainous area of the Earth Kingdom. But that did little to dampen his good mood.

The sun was about to set when the group consisting of 50 business men and support staff decided to set up camp for the night . They stopped at an small lake that the group had camped at just a few days earlier, while on there way to Gaoling. Soon a number of large tents were set up while a small fire was started and the 2 cooks that they had brought with them began to make dinner. But as they did this, the trade mission group did not realize that there movements were being watched very closely in the shadows of the surrounding forest. Just waiting for the right moment to strike...

It was now late in the evening and most of the camp had gone and sleep, while a few remained up and guarded the encampment. Yue was now in his personal tent and was now getting ready to turn in for the night. As he got ready for bed, his mind was still fresh with the memories from earlier in the day. While at the meetings, he met a number of business men that were all interested in what the Fire Nation had to offer. But what really got his attention, was the fact that one of the more influential families in the Earth Kingdom , _The Bei Fong's , _were also interested in what he had to say. Even _Lao Bei Fong _himself managed to rally the other business men to Yue's offer and in the end, a history making deal was made and in the first time in over a hundred years, an Earth Kingdom city would openly do trade with the Fire Nation. There was no doubt in his mind that the Fire Lord would give him a reward for such an accomplishment. But now though, the only thing on Yue's mind was sleep and he was now settled in his sleeping bag. But as he was just about to dose off, a crashing sound came from out side, followed quickly by the screams and yells of the camp.

Quickly, Yue shot up and ran out side to see what the commotion was about. But as soon as he stepped outside his tent, something covered his head and every thing went black. The last thing that he felt, was something sharp cutting his neck and then... he felt nothing...

_**( A couple days later...)**_

_Captain Hu, _along with several of his men stood on the rocky beach as they awaited the return of Yue Jong and the rest of the trade mission that he and his crew had dropped off just a few days earlier. Hu had not been in the Navy for very long. He was one of the very few officers in the navy to get command of a vessel after the war and ever since, his primary mission was to ferry solders from the Earth Kingdom back to the Fire Nation. After which his vessel, _The Iron Will _went on patrols to hunt down pirates in the waters between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom after a number of fisher men from the Fire Nation had been attacked. But in the last few weeks, he had been shuttling diplomats and other officials from his country to the other 2 nations of the world in a attempt to re establish relations with them. And to tell you the truth, he was not very confident that they would be successful. Hu had seen first hand just how strong a resentment the world still had for his nation when his vessel tried to dock at a Earth Kingdom port. When they tried to enter the harbor, there path was blocked by dozens of Earth vessels. There crews holding up banners and chanting anti-fire nation slogans and what not. That was why his vessel was now anchored in a bay some miles up the coast from the village. The local authorities were little help as well, as they did not seem to care about the vessel's problem ans did nothing to address the situation. All he could do was turn his ship around, pull into this small cove stay there until the Trade mission returned from Gaoling.

But now they had been there for 4 days, Yue and his group were due back today. So Hu decided that he along with the rest of his men would wait on the beach, rather than stay on the ship and wait. But they had been waiting for the better part of the day and Yue and his entourage should have been back hours ago. Something was not right. Although Hu did not know Yue all that well, he knew enough to know that Yue was always the be on time for any thing. He had 2 weeks at sea to get to know the young diplomat and he knew for a fact that the man was very punctual when it came to keeping appointment. So this was very odd indeed that Yue had not returned as of yet. At one point Hu began to to consider sending in a search party inland to look for the diplomat and his party...

_' A group of Fire Nations solder prowling round in the Earth Kingdom... that should end well...' _Hu thought to himself. There was still the problem of Fire Nation solders that had gone rouge when the war ended and there had been a number of incidents involving these rouges and if her were to send his men in and a group of Earth Kingdom solders saw them... the out come could have been very disastrous indeed. Suddenly, some movement in the tree line caught his attention...

"Ah, Mr. Yue. Good to see that u have returned." Hu called out. But there was no response. Just movement. The solders there tensed up, as they thought it was a possible attack. But what happened next, stunned all of them, for stumbling out of the tree line was the bloody and bruised form of a young woman wearing Fire Nation garb and she was carrying something in her arms. Hu recognized her immediately..

"Lo!" he exclaimed, as he and everyone there ran up to help the woman, who was one of the cooks that Yue had taken with him on his mission. The woman staggered a bit, before her legs finally gave out and she fell to the ground. The small black box in her arms hitting the ground and rolling away from her as it did.

"LO! what happened? Are you alright?" Hu said frantically, as her cradled the woman in his arms as if she were his child. As the captain looked her over, she could see that her skin was bruised and that she has several cuts all over her body.

"uh..." Lo said weakly, as she tried to stay conscious... "They... they... dead... all dead..."

"Dead? Who are? Were is every one else? Where's Yue?" he asked her, trying to get more information. But alas, the pain became too much for Lo and she finally passed out.

As this was going on, one of the solders saw the small black box a few feet from the wounded young woman. It was a small wooden box painted black and on the top of it was the image of a dragon with it's mouth open and it had the symbol of the Fire Nation in it's partly closed mouth. Another thing that he noticed as he picked it up, was that there was something inside of it. Curious, the young solder removed the top of the box and and what he saw inside, would haunt him for the rest of his life...

At that moment, Hu and every one there heard a blood curdling scream come from the young solder and when they looked, they saw the young solder on the ground shaking violently with the opened box on the ground in front of him. But what really got their attention was the fact that on the ground in front of him... was the severed head of Yue Jong. His hair messy, and his eyes still wide open as if the last thing he saw filled him with shock.

Hu was at a complete loss for words at this new development. Apparently the diplomat's trade party had run a fowl and as a result, he was dead. And the only person that had any idea on what had happened to them was currently in no shape to answer any questions. All Hu could do was head back to his ship with the wounded Lo. He would have loved to send his men inland find out what had happened to Yue and his group, but because of the current political climate and diplomatic relations between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, that was out of the question. All Hu could do right now was have every one head back to his ship and inform the authorities in the near by village about what had just happen. It was not much, but it was all he could do for now as the Navy captain along with the battered and bruised Lo and the rest of his men went back to the ship.

All the while not realizing that their movements too were being watched by the same sets of eyes that watched the Yue Jong and his party just hours ago. The same eyes that attacked them in the middle of the night... and the same eyes that allowed Lo to live and take back the severed head back to the the unfortunate diplomat back to the ship. The last thing that those eyes saw were the Fire Nation troops board their ship and steam out of the cove, before they too retreaded back into the forest and prepared for there next act of revenge...

_**A/N: **__Okay I know this chapter may have been a bit long winded, but trust me it ties in with this story so just wait okay? Anyway please review and if you want to see any thing in this fic that you may think would help it along, tell me and I will get back to you. _


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **Okay... a couple of my readers wanted to know if Azula or Ozai will make an appearance in this story. I am sorry, but neither will be in it. ( Sorry to all the Azula fans out there) If you want a healthy dose of Azula, read "**Road to Redemption**". She is the star in that one. Also, this story takes place before the events of that story, so... no Azula. Anyway... here is the next chapter, so please enjoy. _

_Now on with the fic..._

_**Message in a Bottle... **_

_Zuko _stood alone in personal study in silence. His fist were clinched as he silently stewed on the events that had happened within the last few days. It was just last week that his spirits was lifted for the first time in months, when he was informed by one of the trade missions, that an _Earth Kingdom _village, Gaoling, had decided to establish trade relations with the Fire Nation. That one piece of good news had certainly lifted the weary Fire Lord out of his self imposed depression and for the first time in months, Zuko had reason to be happy. A city in the Earth Kingdom had finally accepted his offer to do trade. Sure it was just one village and it was not one of the major cites like _Omashu_, but the hope was that once trade had been established and the other cities in both the _Earth Kingdom and both the Northern and Southern Water tribes_, saw that Gaoling was truly benefiting from this venture, they too would see that trading with the Fire Nation would be beneficial to their economies and not just the Fire Nation's. Which was one of the reasons that many had refused to open up in the first place. He planned to welcome _Jong _back home as a hero and reward him for his efforts. But just a few days later, a letter came to Zuko from the captain of the naval vessel that supposed to pick up Jong, and what Zuko read, caused his blood to run cold...

Yue Jong, the man that was to be the first post war hero of the Fire Nation, had been murdered. His head decapitated and carried by a member of his trade mission back to the rendezvous point with Captain Hu. While the rest of his party had met some kind of unknown fate and the only person that may have any information on what could have happened to them, was currently in a hospital in the capital and she was in no condition to answer any questions, as she was badly bruised when she was found. But worse news came just one day later from the Gaoling village elders and business men, saying that they had changed their minds about establishing trade with the Fire Nation and no longer showed any interest. That piece of news alone hit the young Fire Lord like one of is sister's lighting bolts. But nothing was compared to the pain that he felt when he personally informed Jong's wife that her husband was never coming home. Zuko could see the woman's heart break when he told her the news, he saw the tears flow from her amber eyes like rivers, as the reality that she would never see her love again hit home. Zuko very well felt her pain, he knew what it was like to loose a love one and too never see them again. Zuko tried his best to console the now grieving widow and he promised that she and her son would be taken care of. But he doubted that he could be any help to her, as he watched her leave the palace still crying.

That was just yesterday, and right now Zuko was back in his study all alone. His only company being the many scrolls there and that bottle of _Fire Wine _that was starting to look very good to him right now. Suddenly the door opened and when Zuko looked, he saw Mai standing there in the light but she was not alone. For standing next to her in his Air Nomadic garb, was the Avatar and his closest friend, _Aang..._

"Zuko..." his girlfriend said softly, " are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just needed some alone time." the Fire Lord replied, sounding as if he had the weight of the entire world on him. " Aang, I am so glad that you could make it"

The last Air Bender just nodded and said, " "Yea., when I got your message I came as soon as I could."

"_Katara _is a very understanding woman if she is alright with you running off to solve every problem that arises in the world." Zuko said with a slight smile. " Yea she is. She says that I can run off any time I want as long as I come back to her." Aang replied with a smile of his own. That response alone cause Zuko's to crack a small smile for the first time in a week. Aang 's tone then became serious and said, "I received your letter and came as fast as I could. I am sorry for the death of your diplomat."

"Not as sorry as I am." Zuko repiled as he sighed heavily and sank in his seat... "I spoke with his widow yesterday. It was possibly one of the hardest things that I have ever done since I became Fire Lord."

"Telling some one that there loved one has passed is never an easy thing to do." Aang replied, sounding a bit sympathetic for his friend.

"Especially when they have been murdered." Zuko added, " It was tragic enough that his life was taken away. But to be killed in such a brutal way... It's just too much to comprehend just why any one would do such a thing. But there is more."

"More?" Aang asked. Zuko nodded and continued to speak.. " I am afraid so. Not to long after I found out about the murder, I received a message from Gaoling stating that the village elders, as well as their business leaders that they no longer were interested in doing trade with us and suspended any further discussions in the future."

"They they state why did decided to do such a thing, just days after they agreed to open up trading relations?"

"I am afraid not. No other cities nor major villages have shown any interest in opening their ports to our ships. I fear that my father's war has left a long casting shadow on the world and the Fire Nation is still paying for it." Zuko replied. Aang could only imagine just how his friend felt, but he could not blame him for feeling this way. Aang was very much aware of the strong Anti- Fire Nation sentiment that was present in the world. While in the Earth Kingdom, Aang had witnessed first hand of just how strong this sentiment was. In a number of cities and villages, Aang saw large rallies that were held by groups that were all calling for the complete destruction of the Fire Nation for the crimes that they had committed during the war. Being the Avatar, Aang would come to the defense of the Fire Bending people of the world. Saying that how they were now committed to peace and that they were no longer the enemy. But it was very hard to convince a people that for a hundred, lived under the harsh rule of the Fire Nation, that their former enemy was now a friend that could be trusted. Especially when in those rallies, the ones who would be speaking had the familiar scars that came from being a prisoner of the Fire Nation. And the fact that he was friends with the Fire Lord did not help things much either. Aang was about to speak up when there was a knock on the door and when Zuko and Aang looked, they saw on of Zuko's messengers standing there...

"My Lord," the young woman said, " we have received a message from the Princess Ursa medical complex in the city. The young woman that was rescued by Captain Hu and his men has finally woken up and is asking to see you. She says that she has a message from the ones that attacked Yue Jong's trade mission."

" Thank you, that will be all." Zuko said to the messenger, to which she bowed and went on her way. " would you like to accompany me? I think this meeting will shed some light on what happened."

"Like you had to ask?" Aang replied, and within minutes, both the Fire Lord and the Avatar were in a carriage en route to the Capital city's main medical complex.

The _Princess Ursa Medical Complex _was the brain child of Zuko and was quite possibly one of his more successful projects he had done since he became Fire Lord. Built and opened just one year ago, the complex was a combination of a hospital, medical school and rehabilitation center all wrapped into one large facility located just outside the city limits. From here, persons in the Fire Nation who were interested in studying in the field of medicine, would come here to further their education. Not to mention, the facility became the leader of in the rehabilitation of solders that had been both physically and mentally wounded during the war. As a result, the complex had become more than just a hospital. It became a symbol of the new Fire Nation that Zuko was trying to build. Right now though, the facility was where a member of Jong's trade mission was being kept for injuries that she had sustained.

_Lo, _was one of the cooks that Jong had taken with him, on his mission to Gaoling. Lo herself was an accomplished cook and had years of experience under her belt. She had worked in in a number of kitchens for both nobles and restaurants alike and as a result, she had developed a reputation of being a skilled chef indeed. As a matter a fact, it was for that reason Jong had decided to take her along on his trip. But instead of celebrating a successful mission, Lo was now laid up in a bed inside a Fire Nation hospital with most of her body wrapped in bandages. As she looked around her small yet comfortable room, she let out a small gasp as she saw the Fire Lord standing there along side the Avatar and one of her doctors...

" Your Lordship... " she said weakly, as she tried to sit up. Zuko just raised his had and said, " Please, you don't have to do that. Just take it easy. I was told that you wanted to see me?"

Lo just sank back into her bed and relaxed herself a bit before she said, "Yes my lord. I was given a message to deliver to you."

"By who?" Zuko asked, " What happened out there?"

"We... we were attacked..."

"Attacked?" Aang gasped, "Attacked by who?"

" I... I don't know. They struck us just as most of the camp had retired for the night." Lo said as she hung her head. Trying to recall the terrible events of that night. " Most of the camp had turned in for the night. I was still up cleaning up before I went to bed and I was almost done. Then... then suddenly I heard one of the men scream and when I looked, I saw one of the traders that came with us on the ground with an...with an arrow sticking o... out of his back. The next thing I knew, dozens of men, all dressed in black, came running out the forest and... and began to... kill every one. I saw Jong run out of his tent and I was about to call to him. But one of the attackers threw something over his head... and … and when pulled it... (sniff) his head... his head was gone..." she began to sob.

To say that Zuko and Aang were both stunned by this revelation would have been like saying that the _Kyoshi Warriors _were just some girls that wore to much make up. A gross understatement. " But how did you escape?" Zuko asked her.

"I did not escape... I was captured..."

" Captured?" Aang asked. Lo just nodded " Yes... I was rounded up with a few others and we were lead into the forest. That's when they.. when they... began to kill every one. But when they came to me... they.. they beat me. I...I... begged them to stop... but they just... just beat me... and when they were done... they gave me a message to give you."

"What is the message?" Zuko asked the wounded and obviously traumatizes woman. Lo, with her head still hung low, sighed heavily and said... " They said that the Fire Nation was a nation built on the pain and suffering of others. They said that we got off easy when the war ended and that we.. were not punished for what we did to the world. They said that what you are trying to... to do will never change the view that the world has of us and that as long as the Fire Nation exist... we are still a threat to the rest of the world. They want to see us destroyed..."

"But... but just who are 'they'?" Zuko asked her, sounding a bit shaken up by what he had heard. " I... I don't know... the only time they ever said any thing was to give me that me... message..." Lo replied, getting a bit weak as she did.

"I am sorry, my Lord. But she needs to get some rest. I must ask you to leave." the doctor said quietly, as he saw Lo's condition and proceeded to do his check up on her. Seeing that Lo was no longer able to talk with them, both Aang and Zuko left the hospital room and made their way down the hall. The both of them lost in there own thoughts, as they chewed on what they had been told. Both of them knew that their was a strong Anti-Fire Nation sentiment in the word, as well as there being a number of groups that all called for the complete destruction of the Fire Nation. But now it looked like one of those said groups had finally decided to act upon their words and as a result, Jong's Trade Delegation became their first target. But what really filled Zuko with dread was the fact that he still had a number of missions that were still in the Earth Kingdom and any one of them could become targets for this unknown group. But what really had Zuko truly on edge was the fact that a number of his generals and admirals would use these attacks as an excuse to build up the military once again and re-invade the Earth Kingdom. Plunging the world back into the dark abyss of war that they had not too long climbed out of. And this time, neither he nor the Avatar may be able to stop it. They had to stop this group, who ever they were, and fast.

It was then that the 2 friends came up with a plan of action. Zuko would recall all the Missions that he had sent out, back to the Fire Nation until the current crisis was over. While Aang would head to the Earth Kingdom and try to discover just who was responsible for the attack. Not an easy task when u consider that the only clue that they had was the same box that Jong's head was in. It was not much, but it was all he had to go on. The young men continued to discuss their plans as the headed out of the complex, and back towards the palace.

The next day, Zuko sent out a number of messenger hawks to his trade delegations still inside the Earth Kingdom. Ordering them to abandon their mission and to return to the Fire Nation. While Aang left the Fire Nation capital and made his way towards the massive city of _Ba Sing Se. _Where he would talk to the Earth King as well as the _Council of Five. _A group of the Earth Kingdom's 5 highest ranking military officials. Hopefully, they would have some information about some of these Anti-Fire Nation groups that were operating in the Kingdom and figure out which ones could have been responsible for the attack on the trade delegation. Hopefully they could stop this group, who ever they were, before things got out of control...

_**(Meanwhile, some where in the Earth Kingdom...)**_

The world was nothing but black for _Li Gang. _The Fire Nation diplomat did not know where he was or just how he had gotten there in the first place. His last coherent memory was talking with the other members of his trade delegation just minutes after a messenger hawk arrived at their camp with orders from Fire Lord Zuko to return to the Fire Nation. For Li and his group, the message was rather irrelevant. They were already on their way back to the Fire Nation after there mission to the Earth Kingdom city of _Blue Lion _ had proven unsuccessful. Hell, they weren't even allowed to enter the city when they arrived and were asked kindly to leave by the village chieftain. With no other choice and not wanting to cause a seen, Gang left the village with his delegation and were no en route to meet up with the Navy vessel that had dropped them off just a few days earlier. It was during this time that he had gotten the message from Zuko and he was informing the rest of his group about this when suddenly, there was a loud explosion that every one into a panic. His last memory was trying to get every one to calm down when every thing went black and the next thing Li knew, he was here. Where ever "here" was anyway. He tried to move his arms and legs, but some one had bound them with rope. Making it hard for him to move around. He tried to yell and scream. But something was covering his mouth. It was then it dawned on him that he was at the complete mercy of his captors, he was all alone and completely helpless.

Suddenly, Li heard as if someone had opened a door and voices approaching his. Li tried to call out to the voices, but with his mouth covered, it was futile. All he could do was allow who ever it was to pick him up and drag him out of his room. Li did not know how long he was dragged for, but at the end of his "trip" , he was harshly thrown into a chair and tied down. Then suddenly, some one removed the sack that was covering his head and the first thing that came into view, was a man that was dressed in brown robes. The man in question was in his mid fifties or early sixties. He had shaggy gray hair with a clean shaven face with brown eyes, but the feature that really stuck out Li, was the scar that ran along the right side of his face...

"You know..." the old man said, " I find it strange that after 100 years of brutality toward my people, your nation would want to do trade with us. After 100 years of raping our lands and destroying our villages and cities, your nation would just come all of a sudden and decide to open up trade with us. Especially since if we did do trade, both our nations would benefit from this. But you see, there is a problem with that. You know what that is..." he trailed of. Li for his part only shook his head

"You see, the problem is that your nation would benefit. That is what the problem is. Your nation benefited from the suffering and misery that you inflicted on my nation as well as the Water Tribes. While your people lived in luxury, mine struggled to survive. While your people slept in your comfortable beds, mine were wondering where we would sleep when the night came. Now that the war is over, you people want to be friends with us and open up trade as if nothing happened! And the only reason that you are doing this is because now YOUR people are beginning to know what its like to suffer and struggle as we do!" the old man then leaned dawn to Li's now frightened face, " I promise you today, that I will never let that happen. Your beloved Fire Nation is the reason why the world is is still in ruin and you go about it as if it was not your fault. It is your fault. You caused so much suffering and yet you are doing nothing to make up for what you did! But know this... by the time we are done, the Fire Nation will know what it is like to struggle. They will know what it like to suffer... but most of all... they will learn the the rest of the world would never forgive what they... you did. And they will never let you forget it. Just be glad that you won't be alive to see it happen..." and with that, the old man left the room. While another man with a iron head mask and dressed in black robes stepped in front of the trembling Diplomat.

Then. The masked man pointed his right arm at Li and when his robes fell off his arm, it revealed a iron fist covering his hand. Then with some fluid movements, the masked man sent the fist flying and towards Li's head. It was the last thing Li ever saw, before he felt the fist impact his face and soon...

He felt nothing...


	5. Chapter 5

_**Making Arrangements...**_

A few days after leaving the Fire Nation on his bison , _Appa_, Aang arrived in the Earth Kingdom capital of _Ba Sing Se, _to meet with both the _Earth King and The Council of Five. Ba Sing Se _itself had not really changed since the end of the war. The massive fortress city was still home to literally thousands, if not millions of people, most of who had settled there during war. Hoping to escape the advancing forces of the Fire Nation. During the war, the city became a safe haven for thousands and lived up to it's reputation of being a fortress for a hundred years.

But all that soon all changed when Princess Azula and her traveling companions not only managed to infiltrate the city, but also caused some of the very people who swore to protect the city, _The Dai Li, _ to betray their leaders and as a result, the proud city fell to the Fire Nation and for the next few months, the city and it's people saw witness to some of the worst atrocities ever committed by the Fire Nation. But eventually, the city was liberated and was now in the process of healing. Both physically and spiritually. Works were now underway to rebuild sections of the wall that had been destroyed during the occupation, while a massive reconstruction effort was currently underway in the lower sections of the city, the ones had borne the brunt of the Fire Nation's rule. The _Dai Li _were now considered traitors, and as such were either imprisoned or were on the run. Their leader, _Long Feng, _had been executed for crimes against the Earth Kingdom, in other words, _Treason. _

A sense of normalcy had finally returned to Ba Sing Se, and the people were now enjoying a peace that only a few years ago, many thought would never happen. As Aang flew over head on his loyal bison, he could not help but to feel a sense of pride in himself. The world was now at peace and he had been the reason for it happening. But that feeling was soon replaced with a sense of dread, for he also knew that there were now persons out there who could now possibly derail the peace that he and his friends had fought for just 2 years ago. These people simply wanted to punish the Fire Nation for all it had done during the 100 years of the war. The peace that the world now had did not matter to them.

Within a few minutes, the massive white Bison touched down in front of the _Royal Palace. _There he was met with an honor guard of Earth Kingdom solders, all dressed in their finest ceremonial attire. The Avatar skillfully leaped off his bison and landed with ease, but he was not alone. For climbing down the side of Appa was a woman with dark skin, long brown hair and she was dressed in attire that was normally worn by women from the _Water Tribes. _Her name was _Katara, _master water bender and Aang's girl friend as well. While on his way to Ba Sing Se, Aang had made a MAJOR detour to pick her up from the Northern Water tribe, where she was helping to organize the first _New Moon Celebration _in decades. He filled her in on what had happened and suggested that she came along and sit in on his meetings with both the Earth King and the Council. Her participation made sense since the Fire Nation was also seeking to do trade with the Water Tribes and similar attacks could happen to the missions that were sent to both the Northern and Southern poles.

Together, the two walked pass the honor guard and made their way up the grand steps that lead to the palace entrance. Their the 2 of them were warmly greeted by Earth King _Kuei _ himself and after a few pleasantries, the 3 of them made there way towards his chambers to discuss the matter at hand...

" This situation very grave, indeed." Kuei said, as he sat in his chair and stewed over on what he had just been told. " and this happened just outside the city of Gaoling?"

"Yes, your majesty." Aang spoke up, " and right after Zuko learned about the attack, the city sent a message that they had decided to suspend all trade talks with out giving any reason as to why."

" When I decided to allow these trade delegations into the Kingdom, I thought that the need to trade with the outside world would out weigh tall the ill will my people still have for the Fire Nation." Kuei mused with a depressed sigh, " But I guess that there is simply too much bad blood between our 2 peoples."

"But why would any one want to start causing trouble just when the world is starting to be at peace?" Katara said, " Don't they realize that the Fire Nation is no longer a threat any more and that their citizens want peace as well?"

"Revenge..." a new voice answered, " Revenge and nothing but." when every one looked to see just who it was that had spoken up, they saw a man standing there that was dressed in what was obviously an Earth Kingdom military uniform. But unlike the normal uniform that was a rich, dark green, his own was completely black. But the feature that really caught Aang's and Katara's attention was the symbol of the Earth Kingdom on the left side of his chest; it had a dagger pointing downwards in the center of it. Kuei saw the puzzled looks on his young friends faces and said... "Aang, Katara... this is General _Chao. _Head of our military intelligence." Upon hearing his name, the general bowed courteously to them.

" I over heard the young woman's question and thought I might as well give her an honest answer." Chao declared , as he entered the room and stood at the table with the rest of them. After the initial shock of the general's entrance wore off, Katara spoke up and said...

" Um... why would any one just start attacking these Fire Nation delegations. Don't they realize that all the Fire Nation wants to do is just regain the trust of the world and that they want to be friends with every one?"

" As far as the rest of the world is concerned, the Fire Nation will never be a friend." Chao replied, " There are many that still consider the Fire Nation more of a foe than a friend. Old wounds die hard after all"

"Anyway..." King Kuei interrupted , " Chao's team have been investigating the attack on the delegation outside Gaoling. Chao, would you mind filling them in on your findings?" he motioned to the general to move in closer . Chao marched to the front of the room and began to speak...

" As we all know, there is an huge yet understandable anti-Fire Nation sentiment in the world and from the intel that we got from the Fire Nation, we have come to the conclusion that one group in particular was behind the attack."

"Wait a minute. Zuko shared information with you already?" Aang's tone was surprised . " When I left, he said that he had to discuss sharing information with his court."

" Well, I never said that he shared any thing now did I?" Chao replied smartly That statement caught Katara's attention immediately.. " Are you telling me that you have spies in the Fire Nation?" she gasped.

" I can not confirm or the deny that my organization may or may not have persons currently operating in the Fire Nation." Chao answered cryptically.

" I don't believe this." Aang exclaimed angrily, " The Fire Nation is no longer a threat! Why do you even have spies there?"

" I like to live by the old adage, _'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'_ Just because the Fire Lord want's peace, does not mean that his entire court agrees with him." Chao replied, a hit of anger in his voice because of Aang's out burst.

"What do you mean... _'his entire court does not agree with him?' _is there something we should know?" Katara asked.

" Chao.. please continue with your presentation." Kuei interrupted again. He simply wanted to avoid things from getting out of hand. Chao just nodded and continued and did as he was ordered...

" Of course, your majesty; anyway... we have found out just who was behind the attacks on the trade delegation. From what we have learned from our... lets say... _'sources' _we have determined that a group known as the '_Army of Fuchou'_"

" Army of Fuchou?" Aang asked, sounding a bit puzzled. "_Fuchou. _It means, 'Vengeance' doesen't it?".

" The word 'Fuchou is from a dialect spoken in the northwestern regions of the continent." Chao explained, " From what we have gathered, this group has a strong following of up to 5000 known members. But we also have reason to believe that they my have many more spread out all over the Earth Kingdom. It is possible that one of these "cells" as it were, carried out this attack."

"But why would they want to insight more violence? Especially when the Fire Nation is just trying to regain the the trust and respect of the world?" Katara said , her tone almost pleading...

"Because they do not believe that the Fire Nation does not deserve the the chance to redeem itself. This group believes that the crimes committed by the Fire Nation during the war are unforgivable and that when the war ended, they were not punished enough for what they did to the world." Chao replied. " but what disturbs me more, is that they have a loyal following among the people in a number of regions in the Kingdom. Especially in the northwestern regions of the kingdom. They have many supporters, both peasant and nobility alike. We even have reason to believe that they even have supporters within the ranks of our military."

To say that both Aang and Katara were stunned by the general's statements would have been the understatement of the decade. They had just found out that an organization, that was basically nothing short of a militant group was not only responsible for the attack on the Fire Nation trade delegation, but it also quite possibly had the support of an entire nation. That fact alone made Aang a bit wary. This _"Army of Fuchou", _who ever they were was not only calling for the destruction of the Fire Nation, but were also willing to carry out acts of violence to get their point across.

For the next couple hours, the four of them began to discuss possible plans of action to deal with this new threat. In the end, Aang decided to head to the northwestern region of the Earth Kingdom and try to gain more information on this so called army. Chao also thought this was a great idea and made arrangements to meet with an operative that had managed to infiltrate this group some time ago. Together, they could possibly figure out just who exactly was behind the attack and bring them to justice. But Chao also warned Aang, the northwestern continent was far different from the rest of the Earth Kingdom and that Fire Benders were not the only persons that were unpopular their. Aang knew this very well, he knew that not every one in the world considered him as a friend nor did they agree with his policy of forgive and forget when it came to the Fire Nation. He would just have to tread lightly to ensure that he would be successful.

Katara wanted to go with Aang and help him with is new mission. But thought it bet to return to the North Pole share what she had learned with the tribal elders. Even though there was no evidence to show that any of the delegations in the north pole were in danger, she still thought it best to have some form of protection just in case something did happen. When the meeting was over both Aang and Katara left the palace, but not before Chao warned the couple about telling Zuko about the possible spies that were in the Fire Nation. He stressed that there would be consequences if Zuko should find out. Neither of them did not want to find out the hard way just what he meant by that.

All they could do was stew on what they had discussed with Kuei and Chao, as they made their way to the home of a friend _(Iroh) _to get some badly needed sleep. But both Aand and Katara doubted that they would get any sleep that night with the new found knowledge consuming their ever thought. They just hoped that the situation could be resolved before any more blood was spilled needlessly...

_**( Northwestern Earth Kingdom...)**_

"Are we all set?" a man with a scar on his face inquired as he looked over the deck of the recently captured Fire Navy vessel... " Yes sir. The ship is completely under our control." the younger man replied, as he watched a line of chained Fire Navy crew be marched on to the deck.

" Hmmm... looks like peace have made the Fire Nation military soft. We were able to capture this vessel and secure most of the crew within minutes." the first man mused. " Then again, pretending to be the delegation that they were supposed to pick up probably had something to do with it."

" Indeed..." another man said, as he came in and stood next to the first one and motioned for the younger man to leave them" They never knew what hit them until it was too late." those last words he said with a smile.

" So... we are finally going to strike at the heart of the beast?"

"With luck, it will bleed to death and they will no longer be a threat to our world... we shall finally have justice"

"Have the prisoners lined up and make kneel down. Then call every one to the deck. I have a little speech to give them.." the first man ordered and within a few minutes, the captured crew were kneeling down in front of the ship's super structure. While the vessel's new crew stood in front of them as their leader began to speak...

" My fellow Earth Kingdom citizens, today we embark on a mission that is of the greatest importance to our nation and the world in general. We are not of the same back round. Some of us are farmers, some of us are the children of nobles and others are former solders and humble villagers. We are so different and yet, we are united by one common goal. The complete and utter destruction of the blasted Fire Nation!"

At this, the men began to cheer. While the prisoners had stunned looks on their faces. The leader continued to talk.

"For one hundred years these beast ravaged, pillaged and raped our lands. They went around destroying every thing and one that stood in the way! And when the war ended, instead of getting justice, the rest of the world adopted the policy of 'Forgive and Forget'! A policy that was gladly accepted by the Fire Nation and while the rest of the world is still suffering from their legacy, the Fire Nation citizen is living better than any one else. They don't know suffering like we do! But I promise you today, that will no longer be the case and by the time we are done... the Fire Nation shall be on it's knees. They will know suffering and pain like we do and neither the Fire Lord nor his little patsy the Avatar will be able to stop us! The Fire Nation will finally be PUNISHED!" With that statement, the entire group erupted into cheers that shook the massive, iron clad vessel to it's core. Chanting _"Death to the Fire Nation!" _over and over again.

"What shall we do with our.. guests?" the man asked the first...

" They like fire so much, throw them into the ship's boiler. We need all the fuel we can get." he replied coldly. No emotion nor remorse in his voice, what so ever.

"At once." the second man said, as he left the bridge to carry out his latest orders.

As the night progressed, the vessel's new crew prepped the ship to get under way. While every so often, horrific screams would be heard coming from the ship's boiler room. The sent of burnt flesh choked the air, causing the crew to gag. Within a few hours, the ship along with its new crew would cast off and set sail toward their new target.

The war was about to come home for the _Fire Nation... _

_**A/N: **__So here is chapter 5 for you... Special thanks to __**Alabaster86 **__for helping me with this chapter. _

_As always please review and stay tuned for more..._

_**UH-60**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A Beseiged Flame**_

" I am very glad to see that every one was able to attend this meeting. I just wish that the circumstances were a bit better for this." Zuko stated somberly, as he addressed his advisers assembled in the thrown room.

It had been several days since Aang had left to meet with the Earth King and the Council of Five in Ba Sing Se and the young Fire Lord had been very busy indeed. Soon after Aang's departure Zuko sent out messenger hawks to all the trade missions that were still in the Earth Kingdom, ordering them to return home at once. Zuko did not give any reason for just why he wanted them back. He simply said that he was postponing all efforts to open up trade with the rest of the world until certain obligations were met at home. Zuko did not want to tell them the real reason for the order to come back. The last thing he wanted was to cause them to panic.

As the days went by Zuko went about the onerous task of being the Fire Lord; attending meetings, going to functions and so forth. He was willing to do anything to keep his mind busy and not be too focused on the events of the previous week. Then, one week after Aang had left, Zuko finally received word from the avatar about what had been discussed in his meetings in Ba Sing Se and what Zuko read had him on uneasy to say the least. It was then that the Fire Lord decided that he needed to have a discussion with some of his top military and political advisers. But they weren't the group that Zuko would usually confide in. They were, in fact several of his most trusted advisers and considering that Zuko wanted to keep what he was about to tell them under wraps for as long as possible, it made sense that he would have those particular persons there with him...

"Indeed, your Lordship." a politician named Junko began adressing Zuko with all the reverence he was entitled to " when I got your letter, you said that that their was information that you wanted to share with us about the attack on Jong's trade delegation."

" Yes. We were told that he had fallen a foul with some bandits." a army colonel by the name of Yang added.

Zuko sighed heavily and amended the army colonel's statement ."I am afraid that was not completely the case. I have recently came upon some information that points to something more sinister."

"I am guessing that the attack on Jong's delegation was not some random act of violence?" another military adviser, this time an admiral, asked.

" I am afraid that it is not that simple." Zuko replied. His gravely voice hinting of sorrow " This act was far from random; it was planned and carried out by a militant group calling it self the Army of Fuchou."

That announcement caught every one at the meeting off guard. Surprised gasps and murmurs echoed throughout the spacious room. " I don't believe this!" exclaimed Yang.

"I am afraid that what I am telling you is true, colonel." Zuko said to him. "And what is more troubling even, his may not have been the only one attacked."

"What?" another politician blurted out iin shock, "There has been another attack?"

"I think so," Zuko replied, " After I had sent out the orders to return home, the delegations had responded quickly, sending back messages that they were on their way to the Fire Nation. But one of them has failed to do so."

" Who has yet to respond?" several voices, all distressed, mingled and became one

"Senator Li Gang and his delegation; they were sent to the city of Blue Lion but we have not had any word from them since I sent out the order."

" Do you believe that this... 'army' has any thing to do with Li Gang's failure to respond?" the army colonel spoke again.

Zuko just looked at him and said, " It is a strong possibility. His delegation was sent into an area of the Earth Kingdom where the Army of Fuchou is known to operate."

"What does the Earth Kingdom plans to do about this... this... militant group?" an angry voice demanded, "How are we even sure that it is not the Earth Kingdom that is really behind these attacks and that this so called 'army' isn't just some kind of ruse?"

When every one looked to see just where that outburst came from, they saw an old man dressed in regal robes standing in the thrown room entrance.

"Deshi." Zuko growled in a low ,almost annoyed voice. " What are you doing here?" The old Fire Nation noble marched towards the assembled group and said, "Well... I was informed that you, Lord Zuko, here was having an meeting with his top advisers, but imagine my surprise when I found out that I was not invited to be apart of this meeting. So I decided to invite my self and see just what this gathering was about and from what I have heard, it is a good thing that I came."

"Okay then..." Zuko replied with an exasperated sigh, " well since you already know what we are talking about, what do you advise that we do to about this situation?"

"Isn't it obvious what we should do?" the old man asked with a slight sneer, " since these attacks were possibly done by the Earth Kingdom government, we should show them that the Fire Nation will not take this lightly."

"Well mister Deshi," the army colonel chided, " Just how do we go about this?"

The elderly noble marched imperiously to the front of the room and announced , " We land troops in the north western Earth Kingdom to hunt down these rouges and bring them to justice."

"And just how long do you suggest do we keep them there?" Zuko asked him, valiantly trying to keep his temper in check.

"As long as it takes!" Deshi snapped . "As Fire Lord, you have an obligation to protect your people and seek justice for for these horrid attacks. Not to mention that it would send a message to the world that were are still able to defend our selves."

"Or it could show that the rest of the world is right and that we still are a aggressive people." Zuko countered. " the moment we start sending out our military into a friendly nation, it could cause another war to break out! And even if I did decided to do something so reckless, we still do not have the financial power to do so."

"The point is..." Deshi cut him off, " that thanks to your policies, the rest of the world believes that now is the time to take advantage of our once great nation and what is more sickening, is the fact that you are allowing it to happen!"

"How dare you talk to his lordship like that!" shouted Yang, as he moved in on the noble. His amber eyes filled with rage and disgust.

But Zuko got to him first. " stand down, Yang. Mister Deshi that will be quite enough from you. First you interrupt a meeting that you were not apart of , then you make outlandish suggestions that could lead to out right war at a time when we should focusing on rebuilding our economy and showing to the world that the Fire Nation can be trusted once again."

"I am only looking out for our country's best interest." Deshi pleaded, as he began to regret his intrusion in this meeting.

" In any case, your outburst was the final straw. I have tolerated you for long enough!"

"But..."

"Mister Deshi! Your services will no longer be needed. I expect to leave the palace and your study cleared out by noon today. Or I will have the guards escort you out, do I make my self clear?" Zuko growled intimidatingly , as he leaned in on Deshi and looked him in the eye. Deshi knew that look all to well and knew that Zuko was dead serious. All the noble could do was hang his head in shame and proceed to do just what Zuko had ordered.

"I am sorry for that outburst." Zuko said in a apologetic tone to the rest of the assembled men

"It is alright you Lordship." the admiral reassured him, " That Deshi only is a annoying person to deal with. I am surprised that it took you this long to dismiss him."

"Indeed," Zuko agreed, "but lets get back to the issue at hand."

For the next few hours Zuko and his assembled group of advisers debated and discussed their options on dealing with this new threat, a task that was not easy to say the very least. They all knew that what ever actions that they took could have a ripple effect on the rest of the world. Not to mention that it was not an conventional army that they were dealing with in the first place, they just could not send an army to deal with them like they would have done during the Ozai years. Especially since the threat was in a nation that quite possibly still considered the Fire Nation as a major threat, an military response could be seen as a act of aggression and the last thing that any one there wanted was to start another war. Not surprisingly by the end of the meeting, they were still not able to come up with a long term plan to deal with the situation.

Since the Earth Kingdom had forbidden Fire Nation military troops to set foot on their nation, giving any future trade missions armed escort was not an option. But in Aang's letter the Earth King himself promised that he would assign solders from the his military to act as guards for them. But Zuko doubted that he would be sending any more delegations to the Earth Kingdom any time soon, he would still have to deal with the public once the news got out about the attacks. That was his one main concern as he along with the rest of his council left the throne room and prepared for that evenings dinner.

* * *

><p><em><strong>(Ember Island)<strong>_

There was a lot to be said about Ember Island ; located in the outer islands of the Fire Nation Ember had developed a reputation of being one of the most beautiful locations in the entire Fire Nation. Set amongst palm trees and luscious vegetation it had become a very popular and desirable vacation spot for many in the Fire Nation. Not to mention that because of it's beauty and tranquility , the island became home to a number of luxurious vacation homes that were constructed by many high ranking Fire Nation officials and nobles. Even the Fire Lord himself had a home on the island that was tucked away in one of the many secluded beaches that were there. As a result, Ember Island had become one of the very few areas in the Fire Nation that had not felt the pinch of Zuko's budget cuts and was actually becoming a success story.

In the port area of the resort town many small vessels were at dock, either off loading supplies and food stuff for the many shops and restaurants located on the island. Or dropping off visitors that were there to enjoy what the island have to offer. But the thing that really caught every one's attention was the large Fire Navy vessel that had steamed into the port that day. Even though it was not every day that a Navy vessel came to the island, many just thought that it was just passing through or that just one of the many admirals that lived on the island were either being dropped off or picked up. Or the she ship might have been resupplying the military garrison that was stationed on the island for security. It looked like that was the case when several carts that were obviously loaded down were pulled off the ship by men dressed in Fire Nation naval uniforms. Some of the people there even joked a bit when they saw these men pulling the carts, saying that they must be new recruits and that this was part of some kind of hazing ritual that they had to go through. Other than that, no one really paid any attention to the men as they made their way towards the local garrison.

After a few minutes, the men with the carts came to a small yet imposing stone building at the edge of the town that was the garrison, but before they were in sight of the centuries that were on post at the gate, a couple of the carts stopped at the side of the road. Then, the two "navy" men lit a small candle that was in set up at the back of the cart but was hidden behind some boxes. They then continued towards the camp. Similar acts were being repeated all over the island, as carts were left in front of homes and businesses all over the island and the candles lit.

Suddenly a massive explosion rocked the island, creating massive shock waves that shook every one and every thing to its core. In a panic the towns people ran into the streets and when they did they saw a gigantic fire ball rise into the air, coming from the direction of the garrison. They barely had time to react before another explosion rocked the island again, then another and another. Each one more thunderous than the last. In a panic the towns people began to run towards the port area to find some form of refuge but when they arrived they saw a number of men , all dressed in black uniforms and white face mask standing there in front of them as if they were waiting for them.

Then all of a sudden, the assembled men made some fluid yet forceful movements with their arms and legs and a massive wall of earth came up and smashed into the stunned towns people t. The few that were able to escape the original assault were only able to get so far before some of them felt a sharp pain in their lower backs. Their spines being torn out mercilessly from their bodies. The pain and terror of their victims was unimaginable and they fell to the ground in a bloody heap.

"KILL EVERY ONE! SHOW NO MERCY!" a voice barked from the group as the men slowly advanced into the town and striking down every one that they could find. The horrific screams of their victims echoing through out the air.

As this was going on, 2 figures stood on board the very same Fire Navy vessel that had sent out those "carts"

" So this is Ember Island?" the first man mused as he looked at the carnage with impassive eyes.

" Yeah, Ember Island ; it is supposed to be a paradise. But how could an island filled with fire benders could ever be considered that?" the second one replied with a cruel smile.

" Even Ba Sing Se had its flaws"

" You know it puzzles me..." the first one stated, " These fire benders loved to destroy our villages and and lands even though we pleaded for them to stop. But now that we are doing the same to them, they want us to stop. Irony is wonderful, isn't it?"

"Should we stop?" the second one asked his friend. Despite his initial enjoyment, he was starting to grow a bit uneasy The first man just shock his head and replied "No... I don't want to give them that luxury, they do not deserve it . It's too good for them any way" he smiled coldly and continued to observe with detachment.

For the Fire Nation, the war had finally come home ….

In all it's horrific glory...

_**A/N: **So here is the next chapter. Sorry if it is a bit long winded and rushed, but i wanted to get Zuko's reaction. As always please review and stay tuned for more._


	7. Chapter 7

_**Home and Away**_

I had been a long and tiring journey but finally after so many days, Aang had made it to the small city of Blue Lion. It was just a few days ago that Aang along with Katara had met with both the Earth King as well as the Council of Five to discuss the threat that the Army of Fuchou might pose to the uneasy peace that the world now had.

In the meetings Aang was surprised to learn that the council was well aware of this army and that they could pose a possible threat to the Fire Nation, but when Aang asked just why the council did not move to do something about them the council's reply was unanimous and straight to the point; they did not consider the safety of the Fire Nation delegations as a top priority and that the safety of their own people was their only real concern. It was clear to Aang to see that the Anti Fire Nation sentiment in the world was not only strong in the civilian population, but in the military ranks as well. After the meetings were done Aang went to see General Chao to set up a meeting with the operative that had been a member of the Fuchou for the last few months. When all was said and done with Aang along with Katara left Ba Sing Se and after a quick stop at the north pole, Aang made his way to the city of Blue Lion.

Before leaving the capital Aang did some reading up on the this rather rural city. Located in the northwestern Earth Kingdom Blue Lion was the only major population center in that entire region due to the fact that the city was built along the banks of the only major water course in the area. Before the war, the city had thrived as a major trading post and watering hole for traders coming from the Ba Sing Se on their was to the many ports that were located on the northwestern coast line. But that all soon changed when the war broke out and Blue Lion was captured by the swift moving forces of the Fire Nation. Those who were not able to flee the Fire Nation advance were left to feel to full brunt of the cruelty that the Fire Nation would soon become infamous for. The once thriving city of 100,000 was left with a population just under 25,000 when the war ended and the remaining residents were left to rebuild their shattered town. As a result this region of the Earth Kingdom had a strong hatred towards the Fire Nation. It wasn't of a stretch to consider Blue Lion the possible birth place of the militant group known as the Army of Fuchou.

Aang's task would be difficult; he was basically entering enemy territory. The army of Fuchou had many supporters and considering that thanks to the war Blue Lion was now the only city in this region, Aang would be surrounded by a people that did not see him as a hero but had the Fire Lord's patsy. It was not the first time that Aang had done such a thing but the fact that he was in the Earth Kingdom and that the same people that he saved considered him an enemy made things feel a bit more complicated.

Within a couple hours Aang touched down in the forest just outside the city limits, he did not want to create a spectacle when he entered the city and a flying bison just might have done that. Besides... he did not want anyone to know that he was there so before he went into the city he changed into Earth Kingdom attire with a hat to hide the large blue arrow that decorated his head. A wig helped his disguise even further . But before he left he made sure that his bison, Appa was well taken care of. Aang hated leaving his animal/companion alone but he understood that it was for the best. With a heavy sight and a few words to his friend, Aang left the bison and made his way into the city...

* * *

><p>As Aang made his way through the streets of Blue Lion, he could see reminders of the city's violent and dark past. Every where he looked the Avatar spotted damaged building and completely burnt out structures a, evidence that the Fire Nation's occupation of Blue Lion had been just as harsh as here as it had been in the other cities in the Earth Kingdom. But what really attracted Aang's attention were the many posters that were hung up, all displaying anti-Fire Nation slogans and comical renditions of him and the Fire Lord on them. One of the most graphic and nastiest posters showed the 2 of them engaged in an act that Aang was very sure should not be seen in public. Dramatically highlighted words that said, <em>" Zuko's *****". <em>It was a harsh reminder to Aang that he was not well liked in this part of the world.

But he did not have time to dwell on such things right now, Aang had to meet up with the operative that Chao had told him about. Aang was told the the operative would be waiting for him at an bed and breakfast near the river bank named, " The Nest Inn". It should be easy to find, Aang thought to himself. There were not that many buildings on the river front to begin with, just a few huts and what not. But located near a small pier was a some what modest building that looked like it had not been damaged during the was. On closer inspection Aang saw that this building was in fact the very same place that he was to meet with the operative and with a deep breath he went forward and entered the Inn.

When he did, Aang saw that the interior of the structure mirrored the exterior. The main lobby was well kept as flowers decorated the room and gave it a very welcoming and comfortable atmosphere. Remembering what the general had told him about on how the operative would contact him Aang went up to the counter and requested a second floor room for the night. With in a few minutes money passed and Aang was now the latest guest to stay at the Nest Inn, all he had to do know was to wait for his contact to get in touch with him. Aang did not have to wait long for just as he was settling he heard a knock on his door, but when he went to investigate just who it was at his door, all he found was a envelope resting on the floor as is some one had placed it there for him to find. Curious, Aang opened the envelope and began to read...

_'Meet me at the pier tonight when every one is asleep... I will contact you are when you arrive '_

Aang read the note and shrugged a bit, all he could do right now was hunker down in his room and wait until everyone had gone to sleep. He hoped that when they did meet, he could possibly get some intel on what this army planed to do

_**(A Few Hours Later...)**_

It was now late in the night and every one had finally gone to bed, Aang now waited alone on the small pier that stretched out into the river. The night was calm and cool with the moon bathing the area in a pale blue light and the only sound that could be heard was the occasional creaking of the old, wooden beams on the pier itself. But Aang did not notice any of these things, his mind was elsewhere wondering just who the operative was or what he might know that could help him resolve this new threat to the world.

Suddenly, Aang heard one of the boards creak behind him. Sensing someone behind him Aang spun around automatically and went into a fighting pose, but what he saw now standing before him caught him off guard. Standing there dressed in a traditional female Earth Kingdom garb was a woman that was slightly taller than he was..

"I heard it was a rainy week in Ba Sing Se..." the woman replied in a soft yet stern voice. Still in his fighting pose the Avatar heard what the woman had said, it was then something clicked inside him and and Aang remembered the code phrase Chao mentioned the operative would use to contact him. Thinking quickly, Aang replied... "It was. But the sun finally came out when I left." It was the phrase given to him to say when the operative finally found him. The woman just nodded as she moved closer... "Indeed. My name is Siwl, I am guessing that you are Aang?"

"Y..yes... " Aang replied as he began to relax himself, " and you are the one I am supposed to meet?"

The young woman nodded again and said " Yes, but we can not stay here. We can talk in my room at the Inn."

"But why did you ask me to meet you out here? Couldn't you have just have me meet you there?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you were on the up and up before we met. Besides, I wanted to make sure that I could kill you quickly and make it look an accident if you were not the person you were supposed to be." she spoke ominously and revealed the dagger that was hidden in her robes. " Shall we get going? It is rather cold out, and I think it would be beast that we were in much more... secure surroundings" she suggested in a smooth, almost seductive voice that made Aang blush a little bit. But eventually Aang regained his composure and agreed to go with her.

After about fifteen minutes of walking the two of them arrived back at the Inn and went strait to her room. Once entering her room the two of them sat at by the table and got strait down to business...

" I have been under cover with the Army of Fuchou for the last five months." Siwl began, as she took a sip from her cup of tea, " I was sent here five months ago by Military Intelligence to infiltrate the group when we began to notice the sharp rise in it's numbers at the beginning of the year."

"You were monitoring them?" Aang gasped in surprise.

"Yes we were . But like I said in the last year the Army of Fuchou has began a massive recruitment drive, " she stated, " they have been recruiting from all walks of life; nobles, farmers, former members of the military. But in recent months they had managed to get elements of the former Dai Li to loin their ranks as well."

"The Dai Li?" Aang said in a shocked voice. He as well as every one in the Earth Kingdom knew about the crimes that the Dai Li committed during the war. The group was now considered an enemy of the Kingdom. "But why would any one want to ally themselves with the Dai Li?"

" I am afraid it is the other way around, it was the Dai Li that allied themselves with the Fuchou. They and their followers now make up the bulk of the Army of Fuchou." Siwl answered as she took another sip of her tea. " But here is were things get interesting. A few days ago a couple of the group's higher ranking members left with a sizable group of men, all Earth benders and the bulk of the rouge Dai Li that had joined them."

"Where were they headed?" Aang asked, his attention amplified with the news that rouge Dai Li agents also made up the ranks of the militant group.

"I do not know. I am not high up enough in the ranks to know every thing that goes on, but I do know someone that is." Aang leaned in and began to listen to her attentively... " One of the higher ranking member is a noble by the name of Wei: he is the owner of one of the taverns in the city where they would hold meetings with the other "generals" of the army. Their last meeting was five days ago, I was not one of the invited but the word that was going around was that they were planning something big. Wei holds the key to figuring out just what they are up too."

"So how do we go about getting to Wei?" Aang asked her. Siwl just smiled, leaned towards him and said seductively "Oh... just leave that to me. I have a knack for getting men to do what I want and tell me what I want to hear."

"Uh..Uh... yea... right" Aang stammered , sounding a bit unnerved trying in vain to avoid looking into her cleavage that was now in full view because of her current position. For the next couple hours the 2 of them went over the plan to get to the noble and question him on the operations of the Army of Fuchou and eventually they came up with an plan to get Wei where they wanted him. When all was said and done the 2 of them said their good byes and Aang went back to his room to get some sleep, but as he did Aang was oblivious to certain events taking place, events that would escalate things to a breaking point; the fragile peace that he and many others were trying to keep intact was in grave danger

_**( Ember Island...)**_

Lord Zuko stood among the ruble that once made up Ember Island. It was just 15 hours earlier that he and Mai had been getting ready to sleep after sharing an hour of passion. Their night was disturbed by news of events that had transpired on Ember Island. To say that he was surprised and shocked would have been correct, some one had just launched an attack on an city in the Fire Nation. An act that was unthinkable during the war years. Considering that it happened in such close proximity to the capital really had him unnerved to say the very least. The island was only a few hours away by ship.

Immediately, Zuko his his personal air ship readied for launch and loaded with supplies and other goods that would be needed to help any one on the island . It was not much but it would have to do until the small flotilla of ships that Zuko ordered out arrived with the rest of the aid. Within a few hours Zuko was on his way and by night fall he had arrived at Ember Island... or what was left of it any way.

The attack had been swift and deadly, not to mention carried out with the precision and timing that rivaled any military operation. Who ever was responsible had managed to take out take out the majority of the island's military contingent by destroying their main barracks within the first minutes of the attack. That left the entire island defenseless and the few solders that were left were no match for the intensity of the massacre massacre that took place next. From what the few survivors told Zuko and his men, it was discovered when people tried to flee they were met by masked men who were dressed in black garb. These men killed every one in sight. Men,women, even children and old folk were all slaughtered as they tried to escape. In all the the attack had lasted only 3 hours but that was all it took to devastate the entire island.

A number of homes and businesses had been ram sacked and destroyed. The street, once filled with vacationers and merchants plying their trade were now littered with ruble and items that had once lined the many shelves in said businesses. But it was the human told that was the most horrific. The main arcade in town was now being used as a make shift morgue, over a hundred covered bodies lined each side of the street. It would be days before an estimate could be called for just how many people were killed; but from the reports that Zuko was still getting from all over the island, the death toll could reach as high as 5000.

As Zuko looked at the carnage before front of him, the Fire Lord felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. There was an attack on the Fire Nation and he was unable to protect his people or do any thing to stop it. This was a cowardly attack on a civilian population and who ever was behind it showed no kind of remorse for what they did. Their cruelty was proven beyond any doubt when the bodies of a number of Fire Nation generals that lived on the island were found mutilated in their homes along with there families.

It was then that Zuko remembered what was told to him by the surviving member of Jongs trade mission. He remembered that there was an unnamed group in the world that was calling for the destruction of the Fire Nation, sure they were not the only one calling for this but so far they were the only one to actually carry out an attack on Fire Nation citizens. Who was to say that this group was not responsible for carrying out this attack and since the witnesses all said that the assailants were using Earth Bending, Zuko reasonably concluded that this group was to blame for this.

But what really worried Zuko was possible fall out from all of this attack. Their would be calls from both the political and military arenas for the Fire Lord to take some form of action and it was more than likely that they would want a military solution to this. That was not a desirable option considering that the world was still not trusting of the Fire Nation. The whole world, especially the Earth Kingdom, would view such as a aggressive move by the former conquerors. He knew that Aang was in the Earth Kingdom and that he was trying to get some insight into this new threat, but Zuko also knew that he had an obligation as Fire Lord to protect his people no matter what.

So with a heavy sigh, Zuko called over one of his aids...

"How can I be of service to you my Lordship?" the young man asked with a a bow...

"Send a message back to the capitol via messenger hawk. Tell them that upon my return to the palace I want to meet with the heads of the military council at once concerning the recent events on Ember Island." Zuko dictated to his aide. When he was done the aide bowed once more and went off to sent the message back to the palace.

Zuko sighed again as he watched the young man run off, he could feel his heart sink and an overwhelming sense of sadness blanketing him. It was just a couple years ago that he had promised the world that the Fire Nation was committed to peace, now he was about to do something that could erase all that. His only hope right now was that Aang would be successful in his mission, otherwise the peace that they fought so hard for would be lost once again.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Ghost from the Past...**_

_**Blue Lion, 15 years ago)**_

The Fire Nation's crack down on Earth Kingdom rebels had been as harsh in the northwestern Earth Kingdom as it had been any where else. For the last ten days Fire Nation solders raided a number of homes and villages suspected of harboring these rouges and giving them shelter as well as arresting any one suspected of either being a supporter or a rebel. At the end of the operation hundreds were arrested and transported to Blue Lion for trial, but to those who knew the truth there would be no such thing. People in the Earth Kingdom knew all to well that the Fire Nation was hardly generous in its treatment of prisoners.

As the prisoners were lead into the main square, a single man ran up to on of the female prisoners and tried to free her. But he was brutally kicked back by one of the Fire Nation solders that was walking with the group... " Get back you dog!" the solder bellowed " these prisoners committed crimes against the Fire Nation! They are to be executed !"

"You are making a mistake!" the man pleaded, " my wife is no rebel! She is innocent!"

"But she is a earth bender and earth bending is illegal under the law proclaimed by his Lord ship! That ***** will die like the rest!" the solder said with a cruel smile. Enraged, the man charged and was about to attack the solder but he was tackled to the ground bu 2 two other solders and held down by them as the first one came up to him and said in a cold, sarcastic voice,

"Since you love that woman so much, I guess that you don't mind seeing us burn her to ashes with the rest of them."

The poor man tried to fight his captors and break free, but he was soon over powered and lead into the square and forced to watch the spectacle that was about to take place. Lined up in front of him were the five hundred or so prisoners that were lead there by the solders and right in front of him was his wife. Her once long flowing hair was gone, shaven off by her captors and she was now wearing brown garb that was normally associated with prisoners. But the thing that he noticed about her that really broke his heart were her eyes, once filled with life and joy they were now empty And a sad sad and hopeless look shawdowed on her once beautiful face.

Then the general that was in charge of the operation marched to the front of the prisoners and began to address the crowd that had assembled to see what was about to happen. His voice was loud and strong as he spoke

" Look at them! These people, these rebels, theses dogs chose to fight against the enlightened rule of the Fire Nation. They chose to fight us and resist us! They chose to pick up arms and fight against our rule, you saw them as heroes and praised them as such. But look at them now, look at your would be heroes; even they were unable to defeat us and now they shall pay for defying us! Let this be a lesson to all of you." and with that he turned to the assembled group and motioned to his men.

All the poor husband could do was watch in horror as the assembled solder took fighting stances and with a pump of their arms, engulfed the prisoners in flame...

_**(Present Day...)**_

"NO!" Hong screamed as she shot up from his bed in a cold sweat, his heart racing as he breathed heavily. He had just woken up from a nightmare that had haunted him for the last fifteen years, but to him it was much more than that. It had been fifteen years since his wife was executed for being a earth bender and since then, Hong had devoted every waking moment to the destruction of the Fire Nation and all its people. After his wife was murdered in front of him Hong made contact with the very same rebel group that the Fire Nation was having problems with in the northwestern Earth Kingdom. He joined their ranks , taking part in a number of raids, kidnappings and other related activities.

It was during his time with this group that he began to develop a reputation for being ruthless when it came to dealing with Fire Nation solders that they had captured and it was not uncommon for prisoners under his care to end up badly beaten and bruised. But his new life with the rebels did not come without it hazards and this was proven when a Fire Bender got lucky and managed to burn Hong's face. As a result Hong was scared for life and the nasty mark on his face became a reminder to him every day of just why he hated the Fire Nation so much. At the end of the war Hong, just like the rest of the Earth Kingdom was happy that hostilities had come to an end and his hope was that with the Avatar's arrival, the Fire Nation would finally be punished for what they had done. But what really happened not only enraged the former rebel, made him question the policy of the Earth Kingdom and its rulers.

The idea of forgiving the Fire Nation and becoming friends with their one time enemy disgusted Hong to say the very least. The Fire Nation should not be forgiven he thought, the Fire Nation should have been punished harshly for what they had done. But now the Earth King himself forgave the Fire Nation.

What stuck most in Hong's craw ,however, was the Avatar's forgiveness of the Fire Nation and his friendship with the new Fire Lord. At a time when the Fire Nation should have been brought up to task for their crimes, the leadership of the world had let them get off and Hong was not about to let his wife's murderers get off so easy.

At first all Hong did was set up rallies and marches protesting the policy of forgive and forget, that had been so eagerly adopted by the Fire Nation. He called for the arrest and execution of a number of Fire Nation military officers who had committed atrocities such as the one that took his wife away from him and at first, his actions had proven to be successful; a number of coastal cities passed laws that forbade Fire Nation vessels from docking in their ports for any reason. But it was when Hong found out that the Earth King was going to allow trade delegations from the Fire Nation to enter the country that he came up with his plan to show the Fire Nation the horrors of war.

Since the Fire Nation was relatively untouched during the war and its people lived well while the rest of the world suffered, Hong thought it would be best if the war finally came home for the Fire Nation. That goal would be easy enough to accomplish. Finding men who would be eager to strike at the heart of the Fire Nation would be simple enough considering that he still stayed in contact with the rebels that he had fought with. Not to mention that there were many in the Earth Kingdom that would love to hit back hard at the Nation that had caused them so much pain in the past.

The only part that he worried about was getting a vessel that would take them to the Fire Nation but thanks to an alliance with the now rouge Dai Li, they were able to capture a Fire Navy vessel and dispose of its crew in quick order. Now his group that named themselves after the same rebel group that Hong fought with, was now poised to strike at another Fire Nation village just 3 days after they had left Ember island in ruins. After taking a few minutes freshen up and dressing in his now trade mark dark robes Hong made his way to the bridge of the vessel.

"Had a good night's sleep, Hong?" Hong heard a voice call out to him and when he looked, Hong saw his second in command walking towards him, a rather tall man that that was dressed in attire similar to his.

Hong smiled and replied, "As best as one can sleep, when you intend to strike at the heart of the demon Hau."

"Indeed." Hau replied as he joined Hong and walked with him to the bridge. " We struck a great blow to the pride of the Fire Nation when we attacked Ember island."

"Yes we have" Hong agreed, "but now the Fire Nation knows of our existence and they will be looking for us now. We have to en act phase two of our plan. Have we arrived at our next destination?"

"From what the navigator told me, we should reach the bay within a couple hours." Hau informed him.

"Lets just hope that we can make it before any one finds us. We are in to position to fight off a Fire Navy vessel." Hong reminded his friend.

"Those fools on Ember island did not know what hit them until it was too late."

" That is only because they were not expecting us to attack. Now that it has happened the Fire Nation is going to be more alert and that could be a problem for us in the future."

"Very true" Hau agreed with his leader and friend "But once we arrive at our destination the Fire Nation would be helpless to stop us."

"Not to mention that since they would be looking for a naval vessel, they would not be looking for in in their own back yard."

"And by the time they do realize where we are, it would be too late. We would be long gone and back in the Earth Kingdom where we would be celebrated as heroes."

"Or at least our actions would be praised be the populous. Knowing the Earth King he would send and army to find us. That is if he hasn't already." Hong added, "Either way we shall be successful and history will remember us as the men who made the Fire Nation bleed."

"Indeed. I will prepare the men to dis embark once we make land." Hau proclaimed and with a few words of approval from Hong, he was off the get his men ready for what laid ahead.

As Hong watched his friend run off , his mind began to work overtime. Thoughts of what he was doing and what he was about to do bounced back and forth in his brain. He was about to commit an act that was nothing short of mass murder and genocide, an act that would guarantee a place for him in the under world for all eternity once he made it to the spirit world that is . But he did not care. As far as her was concerned, Hong was not only getting his revenge for his wife but justice for all the victims of the Fire Nation and if committing such crimes was the way to do so, then so be it. That was his only thought as he made his was to the bridge.

(())

_**(Fire Nation Capital)**_

Fire Lord Zuko made his was through the palace hallway. He was headed towards the meeting room where the Military Council awaited him. Just a few hours before the young fire lord had returned from his emergency trip to Ember island, where a unknown group viciously attacked the helpless town and brutally murdered hundreds, possibly thousands of civilians in cold blood. It was while Zuko was on Ember that he came to the decision to call his military council to meet and discuss the recent events that had occurred, as well as come up with a plan to deal with this new threat.

As the young Fire Lord made his way towards the meeting a sense of dread flooded through him like a raging river. The meeting could go one of two ways; it could prevent more attacks from happening and defuse the situation . Or it could result in another war with the Earth Kingdom, effectively destroying the fragile peace that now reigned . The idea of losing the peace frightened Zuko more than any nightmare involving his unstable sister, Azula. From what the witnesses and survivors had told him and his men the attackers knew Earth Bending, which obviously meant that they were from the Earth Kingdom and that fact alone had him worrying even more so.

What he feared the most was that some of the senior generals would want to use this attack to invade the Earth Kingdom once again and force local merchants to open up trade with the Fire Nation. Of course Zuko would never agree to something so reckless or desperate but he would have to come up with a plan to deal with the situation accordingly or risk having his military advisers turn on him. He couldn't risk having a civil war breaking out in the Fire Nation and destroy the already weak economy. That was something that bothered Zuko to say the very least. Not all the generals that served under him weren't too welcoming of his military cut backs and re routing of funds to the public sector from the military, not to mention that some of them considered him weak and not suited for the task of being the Fire Lord. At times he wondered if they might right; perhaps he couldn't b bring the Fire Nation out of the grips of this post war depression, but he would remember what Mai constantly told him; he was doing a good job and he had saved the country from caving in onto itself and that his reforms were really helping his people.

But then again she was not the one who was going to be dealing with a bunch of war mongering generals that were not to fond of him. All Zuko could do was hope that he would be able smooth things over with them and hope that they could come up with a plan that would benefit everyone and prevent another war from breaking out.

"This is clearly an act of aggression by the Earth Kingdom!" proclaimed an Fire Nation general by the name of Ruan, as he spoke to the assembled group of military officers and Zuko. " They have chosen to attack us at a time when we have begun to scale back our military and become weak! They think that they could now take advantage of us because the Earth King believes that we won't be able to strike back in our current military condition. But I can tell you right now that I have ten thousand men ready to prove the king wrong and exact revenge for the massacre on Ember island!"

"and in the process, you will ignite another prolonged war that our economy can not afford nor handle." another general argued, " To go to war now would spell disaster for our nation because if we pic up arms now the Earth Kingdom will do so in return and so will the water tribes. And if have not been reading the intelligence reports for the last twelve months you would have known that both the water tribes and the Earth Kingdom have been building up their ranks, not to mention that the Earth Kingdom army are now in the possession of tanks. Some of which they captured from us when the war ended."

"So what are u saying is that we should let the Earth Kingdom get away with cold blooded murder just because their army is bigger now?" Ruan asked, sounding a bit annoyed that a fellow Fire Nation general was not supporting his calls for retribution against the earth Kingdom. " the people are calling for revenge and who are we to let their cries go unanswered?"

"General," Zuko interrupted as he sighed and rubbed his temples, " Just because the attackers used earth bending does not mean that it was the Earth Kingdom behind it."

"But it still does not mean that they may not have had a hand in the massacre." another general added, " It is no secret that there are voices in the government of the Earth Kingdom that are calling for the invasion of our country on the grounds that it is to prevent us from ever becoming a threat again. Who is to say that this attack was not the prelude to something much bigger? Like an all out invasion?"

"Generals," Zuko began, " I know that the massacre on Ember was a tragedy and the crimes committed there unforgivable, but we can not just jump to conclusions nor react in such away that might provoke the rest of the world to pick up arms. Especially at a time when we as a nation are trying to forget our troubled past."

"So you are saying that we should let this go?" Ruan growled, trying to keep his temper in check and not snap at his Fire Lord.

" No, I am saying that we should think things through before we act. From what I have gathered the ones responsible for the attack were from the Earth Kingdom but were not alined with the Earth Kingdom government it any way. As such we should treat this not as an act of war, but as an act of terror." Zuko declared, as he got up from his seat and walked into the center of the room. "This is a new threat that none of us saw coming, one are we are ill prepared for. This is a group that has gone to great lengths to strike at us and chances are that Ember will not me their only target. There for I think we should have our military focus on searching for these men rather than preparing for a war no body wants, do I make my self clear?"

The assembled group allowed the young Fire Lord's words to sink in and they soon realized that what he had said had value; if a group of militants managed to reach the Fire Nation and attack one village, then it was more than likely that they would try to hit another town or village.

For the next few hours the assembled group discussed possible plans of action to deal with this new threat. They decided that the garrisons located in every major village and town would be would be reenforced with up nine hundred troops each while the navy would begin to search for the vessel was seen in the harbor just before the attack. It was not much of a plan and some of the generals were none to pleased to say the very least, but it was all that they could do for the time being. Every one, especially Zuko, just hoped that they could put an end to this crisis before any one else could get hurt. But as this was going on, events were taking place that would soon escalate the crisis to new levels.

(())

"Is that every one?" Hong asked, as he saw a group of men disembark from the vessel.

"Yes." Hau replied, "Every one is accounted for. What is our next move?"

Taking out a map that he had got from the vessel, Hong studied it for a couple minutes and said, "There is a small town a day's march from here, that shall be our first target. Order the men to prepare to move out in twenty minutes."

"What about the ship?" Hau asked curiously.

"Yes what about it? It served it purpose and is no longer of use to us. If it makes you feel better have some of the men flood the vessel and sink it."

"At once." Hau replied, as he ran off to do as he was told.

Twenty minutes later the group of about four hundred men began to move their way into the forest and towards the same town that Hong had pointed out just minutes before. Behind them the hull of the ship that had brought them to the home land of the people that had caused them so much pain in the past, sunk slowly into the blue waters of the secluded bay. Now they were in the Fire Nation and soon, the rest of the world would know as well.

_**A/N: **Okay... so this will be my last chapter foe a alittle while. I am going to focus on a couple projects before i continue with this one, but i will update this one when i am done with the others so don't worry. As always please leave a review and thank you ^^_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: **Cool, first update for 2012. I hope every one had a great holiday season. Just as promised here is the next instalment of this little story of mine. I hope you all enjoy. Now on with the fic!_

_**Interveiew with Malace**_

It had been a couple days since Aang had arrived in Blue Lion and discussed on just how to gain more information on the operations of the Army of Fuchou, a militant group that had been responsible for a number of attacks on trade delegations from the Fire Nation. After meeting with an Military Intelligence operative that had infiltrated the group, Aang spent the next couple of days exploring the city while he waited patiently for said operative, Siwl, to contact him so they could proceed with their plan to gain more information on this army and their operations.

As the Avatar made his way through the scarred city he began to realize that there was a lot more to Blue Lion that met the eye. Despite the fact that most of the city was still in ruins, life continued. A small market had been set up in the city center and dozens of merchants were now beginning to ply their trade. On the river front two new piers were currently being constructed and from the look of things, they would be much larger than the one he had visited just a few nights ago. Several new buildings were also being erected all over Blue Lion which meant that jobs were being created and citizens were now able to gain some income for themselves and their families.

For the first time since he arrived Aang truly felt as if the people of this city had been able to let go of the past and that the Anti-Fire Nation sentiment here was only felt by a small group of persons. But that feeling of hopefulness was soon dashed when he came across a group of what he thought were school children and what he heard sent chills down his spine...

_They Fire Nation is my enemy, _

_The Fire Nation is a nation of beast and demons,_

_They are genocidal and barbaric species, that do not care about anyone or anything,_

_As a child of the Earth Kingdom, it is my duty and right to treat them as such and never befriend,_

_They can never be trusted or welcomed on to our lands, homes, or nation. _

_If I ever see a Fire Bender, I shall treat him or her as a second class person and death comes to them if they disagree with me._

Those words coming from such young children shocked Aang to his very core. He just could not believe that such an oath was being recited by a group of small children. It was an oath hate and pure malice and these children were being taught to recite it at a time in their lives when they should be taught to respect and love on another. It was just another sad reminder to him that the people had a long way to go before they could co-exist with one another.

But Aang could not consume himself with this right now, he had to focus on the task at hand and later tonight he was going to meet up with Siwl and together, they were going to find out just what the Army of Fuchou hoped to gain by attacking the Fire Nation.

**((()))**

Sitting in his private study, Wei Se Tong went over the days sales for one of the many businesses that he owned in Blue Lion. The fifty-something year old man was one of the very few successful business men that had managed to carve a living in the city after the Fire Nation with drew its forces just under two years ago. Considering that Blue Lion's economy had been practically destroyed during the decades long occupation , it was quite an impressive feat.

First he began to buy properties that had been abandoned for many years and rent them out to persons

who would either use them as business space or as living spaces for those that needed it. It was a risky gamble considering that there was no promise that trade would ever return to the once proud city, but it soon began to pay off when a number of near by villages and towns eventually began to reopen trading routes with Blue Lion and as a result, Wei became very wealthy indeed as he owned a number of buildings that were used to house said goods that were traded.

With his new found wealth Wei began to pump money into the city that he called home and he became a respected member of the community, but that was not the only thing that he did with his money. For you see Wei was also a member of the Army of Fuchou and he used his wealth and influence to fund and recruit new members into the group. Just like every other member of the group Wei had his own reason for hating the Fire Nation and he was willing to do any thing that could cause the Fire Nation grief. Funding an operation that currently being undertaken by his fellow Fuchou brothers in the Fire Nation was one of those things. And by tomorrow morning, the citizens of Blue Lion as well as the rest of the Earth Kingdom would wake up to the news that Ember Island had been attacked and that the village had been utterly destroyed. That thought alone made Wei smile and he could wait to see the reaction of his fellow countrymen once they heard the news.

Right now though he had to focus more on running his small business empire rather than thinking about the pain and suffering that he and many others like him were causing the Fire Nation. Because any good businessman knew that a profitable empire could fund future operations. So far, he was providing more than his fair share of money. He was proud.

After hours of going through dozen or so statements from his many business ventures all over Blue Lion Wei finally decided to call it an day and continue his business tomorrow, there were other things that needed to be tended to such as organizing the next meeting of the Army of Fuchou's high ranking members that was slated to be held next week. That meeting was slated for next week. Discussions and planning future actions against the Fire Nation, as well as plans to prevent their enemy from doing business in the Earth Kingdom territory were on the schedule. After taking a few minutes to put away his papers and gather up his things he left his study, that was located at the back of one of his taverns and began to make his way through the streets of Blue Lion. He was glad to be going home.

**((( ))) **

The sun had already gone down and most of the businesses had closed up for the night, as Wei made his way through the darken streets of the city. As he walked along, Wei began to ponder just how the world would react once it was known that Ember Island, an island that was re-guarded as the play ground for the nobility of the Fire Nation, was reduced to ruin. He could only imagine just how big the celebrations would be in the streets, very much like when news broke that the village of Wu Tong was destroyed in that "accident" a few months ago. People would be flooding his taverns to enjoy themselves and drink to the misfortune that had befallen the Fire Nation. The Earth Kingdom was going to have another reason to celebrate, he was going to make a small fortune and the Fire Nation was going to be in mourning. A "win win" in his book.

So lost he was in that thought, he did not notice that he was now all alone on the deserted street. Nor did he notice the shadowy figure that was silently approaching him from behind, or the object in her hands.

The last thing that the business man remembered was a sharp pain at the back of his neck. Then everything went black.

**((( )))**

The world was a blur when Wei finally regained consciousness. He could barely thing straight as his head felt as if it were about to explode. He tried to move his arms and legs, but it was then he noticed that they were not only tied down but he was now seated in a wooden chair. He began to struggle to see if he could free him self, but alas the knots were too tight and all he managed to do was leave marks on his wrist that hurt like hell.

"Wei Se Tong." a voice called to him.

"Who is it? I demand that you release me at once!" Wei's tone was one of outrage and anger.

" You are in no position to be making demands, Tong" the voice snapped back, "We know that you are using your wealth to fund a militant group whose goal is the complete destruction of the Fire Nation."

Wei sneered a bit and said, "Let me guess, you kidnapped me and you want me to rat out my counter parts in exchange for my freedom? I am sorry, bit that will never happen."

"Tong, I have enough evidence on to see that you are tried and executed for crimes against the state." the voice told him.

"If by crimes you mean seeking revenge on a nation that raped our country for a hundred years, then yes I gladly welcome my executioner with open arms." the old business man said in defiance, "and even if you do kill me, you still won't get the information that you seek- AAAHHHHH!" Wei screamed as he felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck, like some one had taken a sharp pin and jabbed it into his flesh.

"I have ways of making people talk." the voice said coldly, as she manipulated the pin now buried in Wei's neck. "and I promise you that I will get what I want." and with that statement, she removed the pin from Wei's neck. Giving the old man a chance to catch his breath.

The own of the voice then left the room, leaving a shaking and gasping Wei tied up in his chair. She w entered another room where a second person stood with a look of shock and disbelief evident on his face.

"What were you doing to him?" Aang demanded angrily, as he moved it on Siwl. When Aang first heard Siwl's plan to kidnap Wei and question him regarding what he knew about the plans of the Army of Fuchou, he was all for it. But Siwl failed to inform him that her questioning techniques would involve inflecting bodily harm on him.

Siwl just stood her ground and said in a cool manner "I am doing my job in there. I am giving him a chance to do things either the easy way or the hard way. The hard way being of course involves me making his stay with us as unpleasant as possible without actually killing him."

"But you are hurting him!" Aang protested bitterly. Even though Aang knew that this man was linked to a group that was responsible for the deaths of many innocent people and that he was just as guilty as the ones who actually did the deed, he still could not find any reason that to justify what Siwl planned to do to him. "Let me talk to him."

"Are you sure you ant to do that?" Siwl questioned, "Remember Aang, the Fire Nation are not the only one on there hate list."

"Just let me talk to him." Aang insisted, trying to regain his cool.

Siwl remained silent for a bit, before agreeing to allow the avatar to go and question the olg businessman. Finally and with an exasperated sigh, Siwl opened the door and allowed Aang entrance into the room.

**((( ))) **

Wei heard the door open again behind him. He began to tense a bit, thinking that his captor or captors had came back and were about to begin their interrogation. But when he looked up, the old business man felt a mixture of relief and bitter hatred.

"You..." Wei growled, "Let me guess, your master sent you here so that you can torcher me and make me betray my country men? Well all have have to say is this... **** you!"

Aang just took a minute to regain his cool, then replied " Easy Wei, I just want to talk to you."

"I would rather not talk to some one who allowed the Fire Nation to run a muck for one hundred years and then befriended them when the war ended!" Wei snapped, his words dripping with hatred. "You could have ended the war a hundred years ago and saved millions of lives. But where were you? Where were you when the world needed you the most? You just up and vanished without a trace! And when you did came back, instead of punishing the Fire Nation for what they did, you befriended them! At a time when the world demanded justice, you let them off the hook. You of all people should have been the most furious with them considering that thanks to the Fire Nation you are the last of your kind."

All Aang did was listen to what Wei had to say and allowed his words to sink in. And it was true, every world of it. Thanks to his actions over a hundred years ago the Fire Nation went on the war path in an attempt to bend the world to their will and as a result, millions had died and his people were nothing more than a memory. He should have been just as furious with the Fire Nation as the rest of the world

Aang just took a deep breath and replied, "You don't have to remind me of my mistakes. I know that because of my callous actions the Fire Nation was allowed to do what they did and that as a result, I am the last of my kind."

"So why are you helping the Fire Nation now? The only reason you are here is to help them. If not they why would u be in Blue Lion? Have you not seen any of my posters" Wei sneered.

"Because what you are doing is wrong!" Aang declared.

"So? What the Fire Nation did was wrong too and you did not go after any of their generals." Wei argued "and yet you are coming after us after we did what you failed to do."

"and what is that?" Aang asked curiously.

"Justice." Wei answered coldly, "That policy of Forgive and Forget only benefited the Fire Nation and no one else! And they were more than happy to accept that policy. But unlike you, my countrymen were not about to let the Fire Nation get off so easy."

"But there is more isn't there?" Aang asked "What did the Fire Nation did to you personally that would make you hate them with such a passion?"

"You want to know why I hate them so much?" Wei hissed to the Avatar. Aang leaned in to hear the old man's answer, "They killed my daughter."

"What?" Aang gasped in surprise.

"They... they raped my daughter." Wei spat out in rage, "A few years ago a group of Fire Nation solders raped my daughter when she went into the market to by food. When she came home , she was bloodied and bruised . She was never the same after that day, all she did was stay in her room refusing to come out. She ended up taking her own life a few weeks later and you know why? Because she was pregnant! Those bastards got my girl pregnant and she killed her self! She was all I had and the Fire Nation took her away from me! They deserve no forgiveness of any kind!"

"I understand that the Fire Nation hurt you and you have every right to be angry at them. But killing innocent people in the name of revenge is not right." Aang was desperate to reason to him. Wei's announcement that his daughter had been raped by a group of Fire Nation solders and as a result took her own life after she found out she was pregnant, had shocked Aang to say the very least. This man had every right to hate the Fire Nation, but it did not justify just what he was doing.

"They are Fire Benders,. There is nothing innocent about them." Wei replied, "while the rest of the world suffered under their heel, the people of the Fire Nation lived in decadent bliss. They were benefiting off the misfortune of others for years and when the war ended, they were more that ready to accept the policy of forgive and forget."

"So attacking those Trade delegations were your group's act of revenge?" Aang asked, still in awe of this old man's hatred for the Fire Nation.

"Oh no... that was only just the beginning." Wei said with a cruel smile, "And by tomorrow, every one in this city will have a reason to celebrate yet again at the misfortune of the Fire Nation."

That statement caught Aang's attention, "What do you mean by that?" the avatar asked curiously.

"Well then since you are too late to stop them I guess I should tell you." the old man replied, a hit of amusement in his voice, "A detachment of the army is currently in the Fire Nation doing what should have been done."

"And what is that?" the avatar pushed further.

"Let me just say, that the Fire Nation will finally know the true horror of war." Wei smiled again, "and the best part is you will be too late to late to stop them. Just like you were too late to stop the Fire Nation from wreaking havoc on the world."

Aang was taken aback by what the old man had just told him. A group of Earth Benders, all of which hated the Fire Nation with a passion, were now in the Fire Nation and were hell bent on killing as much people as they can. But what really got his attention was the fact that Wei showed absolutely no sign of remorse for what he and his group were doing. There was only one other person that Aang could think of that was so cold blooded and heartless as Wei was, and he way currently locked up for life in a Fire Nation prison under heavy guard.

Without even saying a word, Aang turned and made his way out of the room. He passed a puzzled looking Siwl. "I have to go now." Aang informed her, as his tone carefully neutral

"Where are you going?" the spy asked, confused by Aang's tone.

"I am going to the Fire Nation and stop this army before they can harm any one else. Do what you wish with Wei, he is beyond my help." and with that, the Avatar left the building , on his way to the city's outskirts.

Siwl for her part stood there in silence as she pondered on what she should do to Wei. She could not let him go to rejoin his fellow group members and warn them that the Earth Kingdom were on to them. There was only one thing that she could do that would ensure that her cover would not be blown. All she had to do was make it look like a accident.

With that thought in mind, Siwl took out a capable looking knife from her robes and entered the room where her prisoner was tied up.

Wei would never leave that room alive.


	10. Chapter 10

_**The Devils Due...**_

Fire Lord Zuko was once again alone in his private study. The week following the brutal attack on Ember Island had been a very trying and chaotic time for the young Fire Lord to say the very least. Following his return from the devastated island, Zuko had called for his top military advisers to be assembled at the palace as to discuss and evaluate the new threat to the Fire Nation. It was not an easy task considering that a number of his advisers had served under his now imprisoned father, but some how Zuko had managed to talk most of the out of invading in Earth Kingdom as a reprisal for the attack. He pointedly reminded a them all that the Earth Kingdom had begun to rebuild its armies and was now powerful enough not only to fend off an invasion off an invation, but were also capable of invading the Fire Nation itself. Needless to say, that fact alone had a very sobering effect.

In the end Zuko, along with the rest of his advisers decided that it would be best to reenforce the many military garrisons that were located in through out the Fire Nation, rather than engage in actions that could result in a resumptions of hostilities between the two nations. Zuko got lucky and her knew it. At that meeting cooler heads had prevailed but at the back of his mind, the Fire Lord wondered just how long he could keep his generals at bey and prevent them from forcing him to declare war on the Earth Kingdom. Zuko knew that he would have to react more aggressively if there was another attack, or he risked his generals turning on him and if that were to happen one of two things could occur.

Zuko could be dethroned and a new Fire Lord or military leadership would take control of the Fire Nation. Or worst a civil war could break out between Zuko loyalist and dissident forces. Both eventualities could leave the Fire Nation in ruin. Zuko's only hope was to resolve this situation before any more blood could was spilled.

As Zuko looked through he reports that still trickled out of Ember Island, a few familiar names began to pop up. The first name that caught his attention was General Bai. Bai had been in command of three Fire Nations armies that took part in a number of offensives in the western Earth Kingdom during the war and he was even apart of General Iroh's legendary siege of Ba Sing Se. But Bai's three armies had also been accused for committing a number of war crimes during their lengthy deployment. Most notable of those crimes was the massacre of over eleven hundred prisoners of war during an uprising at an camp.

Officially several of Bai's officers had been charged and jailed for the massacre, but there had been a number of persons in the Earth Kingdom that held Bai personally responsible for all those deaths and demanded that he be handed over to the Kingdom for trial. But thanks to certain agreements that were made under the table when Zuko became Fire Lord, Bai was free to retire to Ember island to live out his days, while Zuko's seat of power remain safe and secure. Zuko ad made a deal with the devil to save his own skin and it was a fact that the Fire Lord was not proud of.

As he continued to go through the names of all the military officers that were killed in the attack, more and more notorious names began to surface. All of them had been accused of war crimes like Bai and the Earth Kingdom had cried out fpr their blood as well . But because of the influence that these men had in the military, Zuko was unable to respect the wishes on the Earth Kingdom. If he had so, these same men would have easily toppled Zuko and not even the Avatar would have been able to help him.

All these men had been responsible for the deaths of hundreds, possibly thousands of innocent Earth Kingdom civilians but instead of being tried for their crimes, Zuko had ensured that none had ever answered for them and all because he was afraid that they would all turn on him. But now they were all dead, all of them found in their homes on Ember island with their bodies mutilated. It was as if who ever had tracked them down had nothing but pure malice and hatred on their minds when they killed these men and their families.

It was then that Zuko had a bit of a revelation. Maybe these men were the real targets off the attack and that the residents of Ember Island were just targets opportunity. If this were true, then it would mean that there was a possible death squad om the loose in the Fire Nation hunting for some of that country's more notorious generals and who knew just how many more people would be killed as a result.

Almost immediately, Zuko ordered his aids to send him a list off all the military officers that the Earth Kingdom had accused of war crimes and their current residence. Maybe Zuko could predict just where this group would strike next. If this could be done, then he would know just where to have his solders deployed so they could intercept and arrest these men before any one else died. Well that was what Zuko hoped anyway, as he sat down and began to go through the list of names that were given to him.

It took a few hours, but Zuko was able to compile a short list of possible targets that this new threat might go after. None of the ex military wanted by the Earth Kingdom lived in the capital. They all resided in various towns and villages in all over the archipelago, places that might be targeted in the future. When thas was done, Zuko sent out request for some of his military advisers to meet with him as soon as possible. It was not much, but it was all the Fire Lord had to go on and considering the just how dire the situation was, it was better than nothing.

**((( ))) **

The sun had not too long risen over the horizon, when the world's only flying bison cut through the sky. Sitting on its head, the world's last air bender alternated from guiding his large friend through the sky, to chewing on what Wei had told him back in Blue Lion; how it was his fault that the Fire Nation was allowed to do as it pleased and of how he had abandoned the world when it needed him the most. It was not the first time that some one had used this logic against him. There had been many that blamed the avatar for allowing the war to progress the way as it did. And Aang knew all too well that is was his fault.

Aang had long since come to terms with is mistake, but some how Wei's words had managed to strike a nerve with him. Maybe the Anti-Fire Nation sentiment that had engulfed the world was also a result of his running away all those years ago. It would not be much of a stretch, his running away had caused a lot of problems for the world and it was not impossible to think that this group was a result of his own callous actions. But Aang also knew that was not directly to blame for the actions of the Fire Nation. Yes he had abandoned the world in its darkest hour, but it were the action of men like Shozin, Azulon and Ozai that had caused the world to harbor such hatred towards the Fire Nation.

Shozin, the man who had ignited the war and who was responsible for the Air Nomads genocide. Azulon was the one who permitted the war to continue and cause the deaths of untold thousands. And Ozai, the man who tried to burn the entire Earth Kingdom with a fleet of airships during the arrival of Shozin's Comet. Yes both he and Avatar Roku had failed to stop the war before it began, but it were these three mad men that had allowed the war to escalate as it did. It was there fault that the world now thought so badly about the Fire Nation.

Right now though Aang had to focus on the mission at hand. He was now on his was to the Fire Nation capitol to discuss what he had learned with Zuko.

After several hours in the air, the mighty flying bison touched down on the palace grounds. Aang used his air bending and launched himself off his friend and land skillfully on the ground where he was met by Zuko. The two of them exchanged short greetings before they made their way inside the palace and exchanged information.

**((( )))**

"So this 'army' was responsible for the attacks on my delegations?" Zuko said in near disbelief, as Aang filled him in on what he had learned while in the Earth Kingdom.

"I am afraid so." Aang's tone was somber, "And they are currently in loose in the Fire Nation as we speak."

"I know." Zuko replied. "One of our patrols found the vessel they used to attack Ember island half submerged in a secluded bay, a couple days ago."

Aang's expression soon turned grim when he heard this. "This is very grave indeed. There is a group on the loose in the Fire Nation with blood on their minds and they are going to kill any one they see. We don't even know where they may strike next."

"Actually," Zuko interrupted, "I think I may know where they might strike next."

That statement caught the avatar's attention. Curious, Aang listened attentively as Zuko began to speak.

"I was going over the casualty reports from the Ember island attack when I noticed something about some of the dead." said the young Fire Lord.

"What did you notice?" Aang asked, curiosity in his voice.

" It was how some of the people were killed." Zuko replied, "The majority of the casualties were killed rather quickly and painlessly, but there were a few that puzzled some of the investigators. It was like who ever killed them wanted them to feel as much pain as possible before they finally died. It was only when I read the victims names did I realize that this was not no random act of violence."

"Meaning?" Aang asked, even more curious than before.

"The ones who were killed in this way were all accused and were wanted by the Earth Kingdom for war crimes." Zuko informed his friend.

"What?" Aang's tone was a surprised one."Wanted; Didn't you have those who were accused of war crimes arrested and jailed."

"Not all of them I am afraid." Zuko replied regretfully. "When I became Fire Lord, there were a number of generals that threatened to revolt if I did not give them amnesty. They still had the loyalty of their men and I could not risk an uprising at a time when the Fire Nation was trying to rebuild with the rest of the world."

"So you allowed them to go free." Aang asked, a touch of disgust in his voice.

"Trust me Aang, it was not an easy thing to do. But at the time I really had no choice but to do as they said or risk a civil war." Zuko replied in an apologetic tone. As much as he wanted to show that the Fire Nation was committed to peace, those military officers had given him a no win situation. Set them free and have there support, or hand them over to the Earth Kingdom and risk a civil war. And his decision to give amnesty to said war criminals had cause the already strained relations between his country and the Earth Kingdom to worsen.

Aang for his part was doing all he could to keep his cool and not lash out at his friend for his decision. Aang knew that Zuko's seat of power was a shaky one at best and that he would have to do every thing in his power to keep it. But to allow a number of potential war criminals to go free after the Earth Kingdom had demanded for them to be handed over just did not sit well with the avatar. After taking a minuter to regain his composure, Aang brought things back on track and said, "So you said that you may have an idea on where this group may strike next?"

Sighing a bit, Zuko nodded and replied, "Indeed. There are a number of villages and town that are scattered through out the island chain that this group could have targeted other than Ember. But instead of attacking one of those villages, instead they attacked the island that is known to be the home for a number of retired military personnel. Chances are is that they will go after more of them."

"But where will they strike next?"the avatar asked again. With that, Lord Zuko pulled out a large map of the Fire Nation, placed it on his desk and when Aang looked, he saw a number of towns and villages located on the map had been circled out and highlighted.

"On this map I have highlighted all the areas where a number of my father's top generals had retired after the war." Zuko then pointed to a spot on the map and said, "This is were the patrol found the ship, it is only a few miles from the village of Wu Dow."

"I also see that the village is highlighted." Aang pointed out. Zuko nodded and replied, "Wu Dow is also where one of these wanted officers is currently residing."

"So this is where they may strike next?" Aang asked curiously.

"It is possible that it just may be. I have already deployed some of my solders to this region to beef up the garrison that is currently deployed there." Zuko answered.

Aang was about to add something to the Fire Lord's statement, when one of Zuko's aids bust into the room, panting heavily and with a distressed look on his face. "Your Lord Ship!" he said in a excited tone.

"What is it?" Zuko inquired. His tone was not a annoyed one, but he still was not pleased with the young aid's rude interruption.

"Your Lordship," the young aid reapeted with a slight bow, "We have just gotten some urgent news from Wu Dow village! They... they have been attacked." the aid answered, trying to regain his breath.

Both Zuko and Aang were greatly shocked and disturbed by this latest development, to say the very least. "It looks like that your educated guess was right" Aang quipped.

"When did this happen?" Zuko asked the aid, trying his best to remain calm despite the upsetting news.

"The message just came in via messenger hawk," the aid stated, as he handed over the scroll to his Fire Lord. As Zuko began to read what had been written down, his shock soon turned into anger and disbelief.

"What does it say?" Aang asked curiously. Zuko took a moment to regain his composure before he read the message,

'_To Fire Lord Zuko,_

_By the Time you have received this message, my men would have already destroyed this village and killed the military officers that you have allowed to live there after the war ended._

_Hundreds of your people are either dead or dying as we speak, while the admiral that lived here currently hangs in the village center. I can not even begin to tell you about the carnage that has taken place here today and I promise you today that this is only the beginning. _

_But there is a way to stop all of this before it gets out of hand. All you have to do is hand over all Fire Nation officers that are wanted to the Earth Kingdom so that they can be tried for crimes against our nation. Failure to do so will result in the death of more of your people and I know that you do want that now do you?_

_This is your final warning... hand over all war criminals to the Earth Kingdom or more shall die._

_Army Of Fuchou.' _

Aang was in a stunned silence when Zuko finished reading the letter, the fact that this group had not only attacked another village but were now making demands shocked the avatar to a great extent indeed.

"Aang," Zuko snapped sharply "I want you to find these men and deal with them as you see fit."

"What?" Aang replied, puzzled by Zuko's tone.

"I want want you to find these men and deal with them because after you leave here today, I am going to order three of my armies to go after these men and kill them sight on seen." Zuko'S voice was calm and neutral, but on the inside, he was doing every thing in his power to keep from losing his cool.

Aang took notice of this and exited the room rather quickly, leaving the Fire Lord and his aid in the room alone. As the avatar made his way back to Appa, his mind was a flood with hundreds of thoughts. His friend had confessed that he had allowed a number of war criminals to go free at the end of the war and right not the Army of Fuchou was demanding that Zuko hand over all of them or more people would die. And as if that were not enough, Zuko had asked him to stop this militant group before his three armies tracked them down.

Aang knew why Zuko asked him to do this; if word got out that the Fire Nation killed a popular group of Earth Benders, then that would just inspire more groups to do the same and attack the Fire Nation once again. Aang only thought, as he climbed his flying bison and took off into the sky, was to stop this group before any on else got hurt and if possible, have them surrender peacefully. That was what he hoped for, as his mighty bison flew off into the evening sky. Aang was all too aware that he was on a mission that was too important to fail.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Planned Executions**_

Two weeks had passed since Hong and his group of "solders" landed in the Fire Nation and begun their mission of revenge. Just a few days ago this detachment of the Army of Fuchou had attacked and destroyed the Fire Nation village of Wu Dow, leaving the once proud town in ruins and dozens dead in their wake. Among the dead was an Fire Nation admiral who was involved in the massacre of 700 civilians during the war. The Earth Kingdom had originally demanded that said admiral be handed over so that he could be tried of his crimes. But the Fire Nation had failed to do so and the admiral had managed to escape justice.

But his past finally caught up to the admiral when Hong and his men raided the village, caught hold of him and when they did, all the men there proceeded to do unspeakable horrors to the poor man before finally jabbing a healthy looking dagger into his heart and hoisting his lifeless and mutilated body in the town's center for all to see. When that was done Hong and his men took all the supplies that they could carry, while destroying what they could not before they headed off back into the thick forest that blanketed the country side .

Ever since then they had been on the move, sticking to the thick forest foliage for cover and avoiding any patrols they came across. But today that was not the case for as they arrived near a river, the saw that a group of about a hundred or so solders had set up camp at the rivers edge. Possibly these solders were out here looking for them. Normally Hong and his men would try to avoid contact with any and all patrols they would come across, but Hong thought it would be best to send another message that the Army of Fuchou was not a group to be taken lightly.

Silently, Hong motioned for some of the Dai Li that were with them to come to the front and aim there trade mark iron fists towards the men closest to to them. These former Dai Li agents were not the same ones that had betrayed the Earth King near the end of the war, they had in fact been members of the resistance movement that had fought against the Fire Nation when Ba Sing Se fell. They would have been treated has heroes when the war ended but thanks to the betrayal of there fellow agents, the Earth Kingdom now considered all Dai Li as traitors and enemies on the state. As a result, known members had been hunted down and either arrested or imprisoned even if they were not apart of the group that had switched sides to the Fire Nation.

Now this particular group of former Dai Li were about to gain there revenge once again on the Nation that caused their down fall. Each one of them leveled their fists and with one swift movement, launched their deadly projectiles at their unsuspecting targets.

Each fist found their targets, with devastating results. One fist struck a solder in his back and exited through his stomach, sending his internal organs exploding out of his body. Another solder had his right arm ripped off his shoulder, spraying blood every where and sending him screaming to the ground. A third man was fortunate as his head exploded as the fist struck . He never knew what hit him.

All over the camp scenes like these were repeated over and over, sending the normally fearless Fire Nation solders into a panic. They got into their fighting stances and prepared to face this unknown threat, but instead of being greeted by a group of men, a number of them saw what looked like disk coming towards them before every thing went black. Their fellow solders could only look on in horror as the "disks" covered their heads in a black cloth as the sharp blades that were located on the rim of the covering retracted and when they did, the coverings were pulled off by a chain. Leaving headless solders as a result.

The remaining solders, after seeing what had just happened to their friends, tried to run to safety and dive into the river. But all of them were struck down with more of the Dai Li's fists with predictable results, save for one who had managed to to dive in and be washed away by the powerful currents.

When it was all over, the once green grass was now stained with the blood of the slain solders, while the air was filled with the agonizing screams and groans of the survivors of the attack. But soon they were all silenced when the sound of a blade being removed from it's holster, followed by the sound of flesh being sliced. All was now silent.

"Two minutes" Hau mused, as he along with Hong and the rest of the group came out of the forest and admired their handy work, "Two minutes and we took out an entire patrol. Not bad."

" Then again it was a smaller patrol than what we have seen in the past few days." Hong added, as he bent down and looked at one of the bodies.

"True, we will have to move faster the next time around." Hau commented, "You think that letter we sent to the Fire Lord would work?"

"So far we have noticed that there as been a sizable increase in the number of patrols in the area and there is no reason to not to believe that Zuko has not increased the number of solders in each village and town that he thinks that we will attack." Hong answered.

"All the while leaving our real objective defenseless and ripe for the taking." Hau smiled.

"Not completely defenseless, Hau." Hong reminded his counterpart, "Only weakened. Zuko is not a fool, he will spread his forces thin, but he will not just send out all of his solders and leave one area unprotected just to defend another."

"True," Hau agreed, "But I am certain that we will be ready when we begin the final act in our plan."

"And when we do, both Ember island and Wu Dow will pale compared to what we have planned." Hong declared, as her walk toward the river bank and watch the water as it flowed by. "Get rid of the bodies, leave no trace that we were ever here."

All the men answered in agreement and proceeded to to dispose of the bodies by using their earth bending to bury the bodies, as well as any signs that a patrol ever there or attacked. Every thing from the dismembered bodies to their equipment were all swallowed up by the earth, never to see daylight again. Then when all the evidence was disposed of Hau, Hong and the rest of their men melted back into the forest. Leaving no sign that they or the patrol were ever there at all.

_**((( ))) **_

News about the attack on Wu Dow village spread like wild fire through out the Fire Nation and it was not long before Zuko began to feel the heat, as messenger hawks came in from all the regional governors, demanding that more solders be sent to their areas to prevent any more attacks. Not to mention Zuko was now being besieged by his critics in the royal court, saying that his cuts in the military budget that he made had left the Fire Nation weak and as a result, open to these attacks. Saying that Zuko had blood of his own people and that he should be removed from the throne because of his actions.

And if that were not enough, Zuko had yet still to respond to this groups demands that the Fire Nation hands over all war criminals to to the Earth Kingdom for trial, or be faced with more attacks and deaths. But the Fire Lord could not just hand these men over and be done with the whole mess, a number of them still had the loyalty of their men and if Zuko were to make a move towards them, he could have a possible uprising and civil war to worry about.

The strain of all these events had begun to take its toll on the young Fire Lord and it was starting to show. Ever since he had been informed about the attack on Wu Dow village, Zuko had been going into marathon meetings and think tanks with top military and political advisers to deal with the situation at hand. Which seemed to be getting grimmer and grimmer as the days passed and no new reports came in, his armies had not been able to track down or locate the troublesome group. While the avatar had yet to contact him and it had been days since he had left the palace.

But what was worse, a number of Zuko's opponents and critics had begun to take advantage of the embattled Fire Lord. They had even begun to organize rallies in the streets of the capital, demanding that he step down as Fire Lord. Needless to say, Zuko had suffered many sleepless nights and his marathon sessions with his advisers had begun to take its toll on the young royal. A fact that had a certain young woman very worried indeed.

Even though Mai had full confidence in her loves ability to deal with this current crisis, she was starting to worry about his health. He had not have more than 3 hours of sleep in the last two weeks and he had hardly been at the table for breakfast with her as well.

As she quietly looked at Zuko from her vantage point at the door, Mai could only wonder just what was going through Zuko's head at that very moment. With the meetings, the rallies and the fact that there was still a militant group on the loose, his mind was possibly a flood of emotions.

"Zuko?" Mai said softly, as she cautiously entered her lover's study, "Zuko, are you alright?"

"Wha...? oh Mai." Zuko said quickly, slightly startled by his girlfriend's voice.

"Zuko," Mai began, "you have been in here for hours and it is almost time for dinner."

"I will have the servants bring it in here for me." Zuko replied, as he resumed looking at the documents that were spread out on the table before him.

"Zuko, don't you think it would be better if you had dinner with me in the dinning room instead of alone in your study?" Mai asked, as she came up to his desk and leaned on it.

"I am sorry, but I have important things to tend to right now and I just can not leave." Zuko replied, as he continued to look at the documents.

Mai bean to scowl a bit, "Zuko, I know you have a lot on your mind but working yourself into the ground is not the answer." she reasoned.

"Mai, if you have not noticed there is a militant group roaming around the country, a group of generals and officers that can have me removed as Fire Lord if I moved against them and a group of politicians that want me removed as Fire Lord. So if I am too busy to join you for dinner then that can't be helped" Zuko replied, his voice sounding a bit annoyed.

"Now listen here, Fire Lord Zuko!" Mai snapped, causing Zuko to jump a bit, "I know that you have a lot to worry about and that there are many that want to see you gone. But that is no excuse to shut your self in you study and act like a hermit frog! Now unless you want me to drag you out of here, I suggest that you tear yourself away from your work and have dinner with me. Do I make my self clear?" Mai leaned in and glared at him.

Zuko was in a stunned silence as he stared into the eyes of his lover. Mai was giving him the look, the look that said that she was truly angry at him and despite being the Fire Lord, a position that demanded respect from all and exuded power, Zuko was defenseless against his lover's glare.

" Mai," Zuko began, "I am sorry for sounding the way I did. I guess I could use a break form all this."

"It's okay, Zuko. I can only imagine just what you are going through right now." Mai said, her tone softening as she came in and hugged him.

Zuko returned the hug and embraced the woman he loved saying, "It's just that... I really don't see just how am I going to get out of this one. I can't do one thing with out getting one or more groups to turn against me. If I hand over the wanted men to the Earth Kingdom I could have a civil war on my hands. But if I don't hand them over the attacks would continue and more people will be killed needlessly."

"You will come up with something," Mai reassured him, "You are one of the smartest persons I know. Now.. I want you to march out of here and strait to the dinning room so we can have a nice dinner together. Do I make my self clear?" a small but playful smile creeping across her face.

All Zuko could do was smile in return and obey his girlfriend, as he left his study and with Mai, made there way to dinner. Maybe a little break could help him clear his head, or ot least that was what Zuko hoped.

_**((( )))**_

As the world's last flying bison flew it's way over the Fire Nation landscape, its lone passenger and avatar was lost in deep thought. Ever since he left the capitol, Aang mind had been a flood of emotions since Zuko told him that a he had granted a number of Fire Nation war criminals amnesty from prosecution in the Earth Kingdom just to secure his position as Fire Lord, had the avatar crossed.

On one hand, Zuko needed to secure his place as Fire Lord so that he could rebuild his country. But on the other hand, Zuko had allowed a number of war criminals amnesty just to do so and as a result, cause friction between his nation and the Earth Kingdom at a time when he was trying to rebuild the ties that once existed before the war. At first Aang was angry with Zuko's decision to not have those men arrested and charged for what they had done. But as the days passed and Aang began to put some real thought into it, he soon realized that Zuko did not have really much of a choice.

He remembered what Zuko had told him that how many of these men stilled had the loyalty of their troops despite no longer being in the military. They had basically threatened to overthrow Zuko if he had tried to arrest them and if that were to happen, then a civil war could have possibly broken out in the Fire Nation and if that were to happen, then it would have been only a matter of time before the Earth Kingdom and quite possibly the Water Tribes were brought into it and it was more that likely that they would take full advantage of their former foe's situation.

It was not like Zuko wanted to lets those men go free, it was just that he was thinking about the well being of the Fire Nation and it's people and he doubted that who ever had replaced Zuko with would have the well being of the people in mind when they took power. But because of these men threats of a civil war, there was now a group in the Fire Nation hunting them down and did not care just who they killed in the process.

Aang was now on a mission the find these men and stop them before any one else was hurt, but he did not know just where to look nor did he know what to do once he found them. The last thing Aang wanted to do was confront these men in a fight, even though he could easily defeat them. But Aang did not even know what just to say once he met them, many of them had their own reasons for hating the Fire Nation as they did and Aang doubted that could be the one to convince them to lay down arms and surrender. Considering that many of them already thought of Aang as a traitor and Zuko's patsy. Aang truly did not know what to do, and it scared him. Just how do you convince a group of earth benders that had been victims of the Fire Nation that seeking vengeance against them is not the right way to go even though the same nation had destroyed their lives?

It was then Aang had an idea, maybe there was a way that the avatar could end this crisis without any more blood shed while at the same time seek justice for the crimes that were committed during the war and ensuring that Zuko set of power could not be threatened.

The generals had threatened Zuko if he had move to have them arrested. But if was the avatar to be the one who "arrested" these men and handed them over the Earth Kingdom, then said officers would not be able to carry out there threats against the Fire Lord. Seeing that he had on real affiliaton with any nation. When that was done, maybe the Army of Fuchou would decide to return to the Earth Kingdom considering that that they no longer had any targets to go after. From there, General Chao and his intelligence network could track down and locate the leaders of the militant group and deal with them as seen fit.

But first, Aang would have to return to the Fire Nation capitol to meet with Zuko and tell him what he had planned, as well as to get a list of all those who were wanted by the Earth Kingdom so that he could track them down himself and get to them before any one else did. It was a long shot at best, but Aang thought it was the only way he could end this. With a slight manipulation of Appa's harness, Aang changed course amd made his way back towards the Fire Nation capitol.

But as Aang began his long flight back to the palace, a large group of men stood on a mountain overlooking the Fire Nation capitol.

There next target.


	12. Chapter 12

_**The Siege: pt 1 **_

The sun had not too long risen over the Fire Nation capitol, as the city's merchants began to open their stores and get ready to starts the days business. One merchant by the name of Po had decided to bring along his eight year old son along for the day, since he had promised his wife that he would do so the night before and thought it would be a great opportunity for him to bond with with young son and build their relationship. And so far his young son, Lee, was enjoying himself fully, as he rode on his fathers back to the small stand that he owned in the city.

After a few minutes of walking, Po and his son soon arrived at the small shop that he owned and operated. Placing his son on the ground, Po unlocked the front entrance of his store and proceeded to get his small but profitable business ready for the day's sales. While his son played with the small toy that he had brought along with him on that day.

"Papa!" the young child called out, "You have a people in the shop!"

_'Already?'_ the young merchant thought to himself, noting the fact that he had not opened his store for business as of yet. But he still was not about to his first day's sales to slip through his fingers. With a heavy sigh, Po went in to the store front to see just who had entered his store and when he did, Po was greeted by several men that were dressed in dark robes.

"Hello, can I help you?" Po asked in a calm tone, despite being slightly unnerved by the costumers garb.

The men for their part did not say a word, as they lifted up their arms and aimed their metal fist at Po and launched them at the unfortunate businessman.

_**((( )))**_

"LORD ZUKO!" the young aid exclaimed, as he burst through the doors of the Fire Lord's bed room and entered. Much to Zuko's and Mai's displeasure .

Trying everything in his power not to set the intruding aide on fire, Zuko growled a bit and said "You better have a good reason for entering my bedroom and disturbing us."

The young aide soon realized what he had just done and said, "I am sorry your Lordship, but there... there has been another attack."

Zuko could feel his heart sink, "Where else has been attacked?" the Fire Lord asked.

"Your Lordship," the aide began, "we... we have been attacked."

"What?" Zuko roared as he shot up from his bed and rushed the young aide,"When did this happen?"

"The news just reached the palace my lord," the aide began, "it took place in city's market district. From the reports we have gotten, the assailants were earth benders."

Zuko could feel a chill run down his spine with the aide's announcement that the attackers were in fact, earth benders. At that point images of the carnage that he had seen on Ember island began to flood his head, "What are the casualties?" the Fire Lord asked fearfully.

"No word I am afraid," the aide replied, "The attackers have... well... built a wall, surrounding the entire market area."

"A what?" Zuko gasped in disbelief.

"They used their earth bending to build a large wall that has encompassed the entire market area," the aide explained, "the local garrison was called in but when they tried to destroy the wall, the attackers said that they had hostages and that they would kill them all if the army tried anything to breach."

"What are their demands?" the fire lord asked fearfully. Even though Zuko dis not hated the idea bowing down to the demands of any one, let alone a murderous band of earth benders who were responsible for some of the most horrific crimes against the Fire Nation. But when it came to the safety and well being of his people, Zuko was willing to do anything.

"Only that the leader wanted to have a face to face meeting with you, my lord." the young aide answered.

"Very well then." Zuko replied, "Have my carriage ready and I will be out in a few minutes." The young aide paused a bit, as if he was about to question Zuko's decision to meet with the group's leader, but the aide did as what he was told and headed off to carry out the Fire Lord's orders.

"You are going to meet with him?" Mai asked curiously, as she shifted herself and sat up in bed.

"I want to know." Zuko stated.

"What?"

"I want to know just what this group really wants." Zuko answered, "I want to know just why they are doing what they are doing. I feel that there is more to their rampage than just wanting me to hand over a bunch of officers."

"Or it could be a trick so that they could kill you." Mai added, fearing for her lover's safety and well being.

"I am very well aware of that fact, Mai." Zuko replied, as he walked over to his bed and sat down next to Mai, "But if I do not go, then they would most likely start killing the hostages until I showed up."

"Just be careful and come back. Or else I will kill you." Mai replied, as a small smile formed on her pale face. Zuko smiled as well, as he moved in and planted a small but tender kiss on Mai's lips before he got up and began to change into his royal robes.

A few minutes later Fire Lord Zuko along with a small detachment of his personal guards left the royal palace and made their way towards the troubled area of the city. As the small convoy made its way through the capitol's streets, Zuko could see large plumes of black smoke rising into the air from the market district. It had a very sobering affect on the young Fire Lord to say the very least.

Finally, the Fire Lord and his small caravan of solders and aides came to the entrance of the market district and what they saw before them had everyone in awe. Instead of an open area filled with food stands and stores, they saw a large earthen wall that was about seven meters in height and from what they had seen while pulling up, it looked like it really did encircled the entire market area. While hundreds of Fire Nation solders had begun to set up a small camp in preparation for what could be a long stand off. But what really caught Zuko's eye were the large number of wounded civilians that were now being treated by the military doctors that had came in along with the army and were now in the process of being evacuated to safety.

The carriage soon came to a stop and as Zuko exited, he was meet by the commander of of the small force that had gathered, as well as one of his top military advisers and friend, Colonel Yang.

"Lord Zuko." Yang said with a slight bow.

"What is the latest?" the Fire Lord asked eagerly, as he followed the army colonel to a small tent that had been set up.

"We deployed as soon as we got word of the attack," Yang began, "but by the time we arrived, they had created this massive wall that you now see. From what my scouts have told me, the wall has encompassed the entire market grounds."

"That I already know." Zuko said, "Is there anything else you have found out? Have you even made contact with who ever it is on the other side?"

The colonel sighed a bit and answered, "Yes we have. As soon as we arrived, a man calling him self 'Hong' stood on the wall and said that he wanted to speak with you personally."

"Did he say anything else?" Zuko queried.

"No. As soon as we asked just who he was, he vanished behind the wall, saying that he will kill the his captives if we tried to breach the wall. We have not seen him since." Yang replied.

Zuko breathed a heavy sigh and said, "Call him. Tell this 'Hong' person that I am here and that will hear his demands, if he has any."

"Excuse me your lordship?" Yang asked, caught off guard by his friend's request.

"He went through all this trouble to get me here, I don't want to disappoint him." Zuko stated, "Besides, I was told that he had hostages and that he would harm them if I did not show up. Now inform him that I am here."

Yang wanted to argue with Zuko about meeting with this "Hong" character and prevent him from walking into what was quite possibly a trap. But Yang also knew that it was not wise to question Zuko's words so with a reluctant sigh, Yang marched out of the tent that had been set up and made his way to announce Zuko's arrival to this "Hong" person.

_**((( ))) **_

While this was going on, both Hong and Hau were seated in what was once a store front that belong to a merchant named Po. What was once a store that sold mainly kitchen items and such was now being used as the main command center for the twin commanders, while the original owner, as well as the rest of their captives were being kept in a small area that had been created via earth bending to secure them.

As Hong sipped the small cup of tea that he had made, he could not help but to think of just how well his plan had gone so far. They had arrived on the outskirts of the city , just before dark the day before and had spent the night infiltrating the capitol, searching for their next target. It was not long before they had decided to focus their attention on the city's market area because they could use the market's open area to their advantage. And so far, it had.

Thanks to the open area they had used their earth bending to great effect , using their skill to create the imposing wall that now encircled the area. But unlike their previous attacks where they had quickly retreated, they had instead set themselves up for a prolonged siege and considering that they now had a market filled with vegetables and other food stuff, they could definitely hold out for a very long time indeed.

But Hong had other things in mind, he did not intend to stay in the Fire Nation any longer. He and his men had done what they already set out to do; they had brought the carnage of war to the heart of the Fire Nation and caused a fear and panic among it's people. Blood was spilled on it's soil and the Fire Nation finally knew the consequences of their actions during the war. Now all that was left to do was to to escape back to the Earth Kingdom where they would be welcomed back and seen as heroes in their native land. Hong knew just how he would do this and right now, he was waiting for the next piece of the puzzle to fall into place.

He did not have to wait for long, for as he took another sip a runner came up to him and said that Lord Zuko had arrived and that he wanted to to speak with him. Smiling a bit, Hong got up from his seat and followed the runner towards the point where he had gotten the message. With the aide from the same runner, a stair way was created that lead to the top of the wall where a small platform was waithing for him as well.

"I heard that the Fire Lord answered my request to have an audience with me?" Hong called out from his vantage point.

Zuko at this point came forward and said, "Yes, I came as soon as I heard that you wanted to see me."

"Impressive," Hong replied, "I am surprised that you came at all."

"When my people are in danger, I have an obligation as Fire Lord to ensure their safety and well being." Zuko replied,his tone firm and showed no fear.

"Indeed, guess you would seeing that they look towards you to guide them." Hong added, "but enough of this talk. We have other things to discuss."

Zuko nodded in agreement and replied, "Indeed, we do. Where do you suggest we talk?" as if on cue a small passage way, small enough for one person to pass through, opened up in the wall and Hong answered, " I think it would be best if we talked on my side. Only you may enter, but if any one tries to enter with you..."

"I understand." Zuko replied, as he began to walk towards the entrance.

"Your Lordship, what are you doing?" Yang asked excitedly, as he ran up to Zuko, "It could be just a ploy to get you in there and hold you as hostage as well."

"Yang, I understand your concerns and they are founded. But I am more than capable of defending my self and the last thing we want is to do anything that could endanger the lives of everyone inside." Zuko explain, "I want to give this Hong fellow a chance to speak his mind and hear what he has to say. Plus I want to know if those imprisoned inside are alright."

The army colonel took a minute to digest what Zuko had told him and after a minute or two, Yang sighed heavily and said, "Just be careful, my lord. I do not want to be the one who has to inform Lady Mai of you untimely demise."

Zuko cracked a small smile and said, "If I am not out in twenty minutes, do what you have to rescue the hostages." and with that, Zuko began to walk towards the small tunnel that would lead him from the safety and the security of his men, to the unknown that was the other side of the wall and the enemy encampment.

All Yang could do at this point, was watch Zuko walk slowly yet purposely into the dark passage, the wall slowly closing back in as he did.

Yang just hoped that the Fire Lord's decision to meet with the groups leader would not be his last.

_**((())) ((( )))**_

_**A/N:** And sorry if this chapter is shorter than the others, but i though it would be best to break it up into pieces for the benifit of the readers. As always please R&R and stay tuned. _


	13. Chapter 13

_**The Siege: pt.2**_

****"Ah Fire Lord Zuko, how nice it it to finally meet you. I am Hong, the leader of the Army of Fuchou. " Hong greeted Zuko, as the Fire Lord entered the market area that was now under the complete control of the Army of Fuchou. It was not too long ago that Zuko had arrived and said that he was willing to meet with the group's leader after he had demanded to have audience with the Fire Lord. Zuko knew that he may have been walking into a trap when he decided to meet with the militant leader, but he was willing to take the risk if it meant resolving the situation and ensuring that the hostages that were being held captive were released safe and unharmed.

Zuko scowled a bit and replied, "So you are the ones responsible for the massacres on Ember Island and Wu Dow?"

"You see it as a massacre, we see it a a great victory for our people. Or at least that is how the your Fire Nation thinks when they talk about all the so called 'battles' that took place during it's genocidal war." Hong replied in a defiant tone, "But enough with this history lesson, I am guessing that you want to see if our 'guess' are alright?"

Trying his best to keep himself calm, Zuko nodded and replied "If by that you mean your hostages, then yes I would very much like to see them." Hong nodded and motioned for the Fire Lord to follow him and lead Zuko to a small but open area where the Army of Fuchou were keeping those who were captive and what Zuko saw, almost broke his heart.

There in front of him were dozens upon dozens of people that were made to sit on the ground, many of them nursing bad wounds to either their arms, legs or backs. All of them under the watchful eyes of their captors, who stood guard around them. But what really caught Zuko's attention were the three bodies that were laying on the ground in front of the prisoners and were covered with a brown tarp with only their feet sticking out. Hong noticed the changing expression on Zuko's face and said calmly, "They tried to fight back, my men were forced to... take precautions to ensure their safety."

"So you had them killed?" Zuko asked, trying his best no to lose his temper in front of Hong.

"Believe me Fire Lord, we came here with the intention of gaining your attention. But I can not be responsible for the actions of my men now can it?" Hong answered with a cruel smile. Hong had just used the same excuse the Fire Nation used when they originally refused to hand over a number of generals to the Earth Kingdom for trial. Zuko knew this all to well, he was the one what had originally mad that statement. It was a cruel irony.

"I demand that you release them at once!" Zuko demanded, letting his anger out a bit as he spoke.

"You are in no position to make demands, Zuko." Hong snapped back, "the actions of your people upon the rest of the world caused this to happen! Hundreds of thousands of innocent men wonen and children well killed all because the Fire Nation saw it fit to make the rest of the world bow down to its will and if they did not, it was death! And when the war ended, your nation was more than happy to adopt "forgive and forget" while the rest of the world called out for justice."

"So that's what all this is about? Revenge?" Zuko asked calmly, remembering where he was and that his actions could affect just how the hostages were treated.

"No, it is about justice." Hong stated, "The world called out for justice at a time when it should have been sought. But the avatar and yourself ensured that the Fire Nation never saw to this, all you were concerned with was covering you ass while the rest of the world struggled to move on. Now with these attacks the world finally had something to celebrate, while your so called "new" Fire Nation finally knew the true horror of war. Justice has been done."

Zuko could feel his blood start to boil, but he still managed to keep his cool as he asked, "So what are your demands?" Hong for his part smiled a bit and said " Our demands are simple really. We just want a ship to carry us to a location chosen by us, in the Earth Kingdom. When we arrive and on dry land, we shall release our prisoners."

"I can give you a ship, but only if you release your hostages first. When you do this then I and ensure your safe passage back to the Earth Kingdom." Zuko told him.

Hong chuckled a bit then said, "Do you take me for a fool? Do you really thing that I am that stupid to release the only thing that could ensure the safety of me and my men. You have until tomorrow morning to provide what we want of the hostages die."

"If you kill them then you will lose the only thing protecting you." Zuko pointed out to the militant leader.

"Look around you Zuko, all my men have lost mothers, fathers, sisters and or brothers because of the Fire Nation. They have lost everything and we are all ready to die as long as we kill as many fire benders before we do." Hong stated, "My associate Hua will show you out." and with that, Hong went on his way while Zuko followed the one named Hau back to the wall, where two Fuchou members used their earth bending to create an exit for Zuko use so that he could rejoin his men on the other side.

_**((( )))**_

"So those are their demands?" Yang said as he, Zuko and a couple other army officers discussed the recent meeting between Zuko and the Fuchou leader known as Hong. While in meeting, Zuko informed the officers about the condition of those that were still being held within the walls of the market, as well as the demands that were made for a ship to carry them back to the Earth Kingdom.

"Yes and he also stated that if do not provide him with a vessel, he will kill every one inside." Zuko added, as he took a sip of the tea that had been made for him.

"You are not seriously considering bowing down to these rouges demands?" one of the officers asked the Fire Lord.

"I am afraid that I really don't have much of a choice," Zuko stated, as he moved from the small table that they were using and stared vacantly at the imposing wall, "their leader stated that they were willing to kill the hostages if we did not do as they wanted."

"And if they do kill them, then their would be nothing keeping us from launching a massive attack to capture them." the other officer said from his spot by the table.

"Hong is not dumb," Zuko replied, "he knows that he needs those hostages alive if he and his men have any chance of leaving the capitol alive.

Yang was about to add something when a solder entered the tent and said, "I am sorry for the interruption my lord, but the avatar has arrived and is asking to see you."

"Aang...? uh... send him in at once!" Zuko declared, sounding a bit surprised that the Avatar had returned at such a critical time. The messenger nodded as he exited the tent and with a few minutes he came back with the avatar in tow.

"Aang," Zuko said as he approached his friend, "Thank goodness that you are here."

"I bet, considering that this section of the city has now become ground zero for another attack." Aang stated, as he walked in and positioned himself at the small table in the tent, "One of the solders told me what had happened when I touched down. Is it true that they are still holding people hostages inside those walls?"

Zuko nodded as he said, "I am afraid that is true and they have also said that they will kill them if I don't get the a ship to take them back to the Earth Kingdom."

"We have the entire market surrounded and under constant watch just in case they cause any trouble," Yang informed Aang, "but so far my men have said that those inside showed no interest to any one outside. All they have done so far is guard the wall and keep watch over the prisoners."

"Yang," Zuko interupted, "I need to talk to the avatar alone for a moment. Please take your men and leave." Yang did as he was told and gestured to the other two officers with him to leave, leaving the two friends alone to talk.

"Is there something wrong?" Aang asked with a concern tone in his voice. Zuko just walked back towards the table leaned on it heavily and said, "He's right, it is my nation's fault this is happening."

"Who is right?" Aang asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Hong, the leader of the the group told me that what they are doing is not out of revenge, but of justice." Zuko began with a heavy sigh, "We were way too eager to adopt 'Forgive and Forget' when the war ended."

"So did the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes," Aang replied in a attempt to reassure his friend, "They too adopted that policy as well."

"Yes, but they were not the ones who committed unspeakable horrors upon the world." Zuko countered, "Those nations are not responsible for the deaths of thousands, nor did they cause the extinction of your people Aang, and thanks to me, dozens of war criminals that should have punished went free."

"But you said that the only reason you allowed them to go free was because they threatened to remove you from power," Aang reminded him, " you were the one that said that you it was the only way you could help your people."

"Aang almost five thousand innocent people were murdered on Ember island and hundreds more were killed Wu Dow village." Zuko stated with a hint of guilt in his voice, "The one in charge of the group said what they had done was just and punishment for what we had done to the world. We brought this... I brought this on my nation."

Aang was stunned by the Fire Lord's statement, Zuko had basically admitted that the Army of Fuchou was a result of his failure to give the world the justice that it wanted. The once confident and hopful Fire Lord had now been replaced with one that was full of guilt, remorse and doubt.

The avatar just took a deep breath and said, "Zuko, none of this has to do with you. Yes the Fire Nation is responsible for the world's troubled pass but it was not your fault, it was father, grand father and great grand father that were responsible for the Fire Nation being so hated now. If anything I am to blame for allowing things to get as bad as they did."

"How are you to blame?" Zuko asked curiously.

"Remember, I ran away because I thought I was not ready to be the avatar" Aang stated, "and while I was gone, Shozin and later Azulon dragged the world into a war that I could have stopped or even prevented. I could have even saved my people if I had not run away. If it is any one who should be feeling guilt ridden, it's me."

"But you ended the war and prevented my father from burning the Earth Kingdom." Zuko countered.

"And you took over running the Fire Nation and showed your people the errors of the past Fire Lords." Aang replied.

"So what is your point? We both screwed up in our rolls." Zuko stated

"Yes, but we have both done great things that have benefited the people of the world." Aang replied, "We can not dwell on our past mistakes Zuko, we must focus on the future that we are trying to build."

The Fire Lord stood there for a moment in silence and allowed what his friend had told him to sink in, it was true that they had both done things that they were not proud off and resulted in a lot of people getting hurt, but they had also done things that had benefited the world as well. Like the budget cuts and the down sizing of the military that Zuko had done to stabilize the Fire Nation's economy, that alone had prevented the Fire Nation from going into default.

"You know, you are starting to sound like Mai." Zuko said as he cracked a smile.

"I am not too sure if that is a good thing." Aang joked back, a small smile forming on his face as well, "So what do we do about Hong and his men?"

Zuko took a minute, as his mind began to chew on what he already knew. His main priority was to ensure that those that were being held within the walls were safe if they tried to mount a rescue operation. But from what Zuko had seen while he was inside, the group was heavily guarded and any attempt to rescue them could result in either one or all of them being hurt or worse. Even with the avatar's present, there was just too many variables that could result in the hostages being harmed.

Soon a plan began to form in the Fire Lord's head and it would all depend Aang's skill as the master of all four elements, namely earth bending. The plan sounded simple enough, separate the hostages from their captors long enough for the army to close in and subdue the rouge group. But it was the actual execution of this plan was complicated part and that was where Aang came in. Zuko explained the plan to Aang in detail and the avatar agreed to help, but only after he made Zuko promise that they would try to capture Hong and his men alive so that they could face justice.

A few minutes later, one of the Fire Nation solders yelled over the wall saying that Zuko had agreed to the group's demands and that a ship will be waiting for them at the port. There was no immediate response, but a few minutes later one of the persons inside called back saying that they will head to the ship at midnight that night and that it should be ready for launch when they arrived. The solder then relayed the message to Zuko who then proceeded to make plans for later that night.

_**((( ))) **_

The hours passed by quickly as Zuko and his men prepared for when the Army of Fuchou would leave the small "fort" that they had created and make their way towards the port, where a cargo vessel would be waiting to carry them back to the Earth Kingdom. Or so the group thought. There was a vessel waiting for them, but it was in reality a prison barge that would be used to hold them after the hostages were rescued. All the Fire Nations solders had to do now was hold back until the signal was given for them to move in and arrest them.

Precautions were put in place to ensure that the plan would be executed flawlessly, the army cleared and closed off some of the streets that lead from the market towards the port. While Zuko, Aang and Yang went over the details of their plans for the rescue. But finally after hours of planning and preparation, midnight came and soon all eyes were on the enclosed market area.

Suddenly, a section of the massive wall slowly sank into the ground and the first group began to make their way out of the market with some of the hostages in tow. They were all dressed in dark robes and their heads covered , the only way that the solders could tell the hostages from the captors was the fact that some of them held large daggers to the necks of the others. As the first procession made its way down the street another line of robed figures, alined in the same way and with daggers to the necks of some exited the market and followed the first group down the street.

From a distance, Zuko and Aang watched as more robed figures left the market and made their way down the street. As they looked on at the processions, Zuko was a bit puzzled as to why Hong would chose to walk his men and the hostages to the port rather that use the various carts and wagons that were located in the market. But as Zuko watched the processions, he began to notice something about those who had exited the market. For some reason they did not move as organized as he had seen them do while in his meeting with Hong. In fact they moved as if they were tired and some of them had even stumbled a bit as they marched.

"Aang," Zuko spoke up, "Use your air bending and remove their head covers."

"What?" Aang asked with a puzzled look on his face. "No time to explain, just do it!" Zuko replied a bit excitedly, as he continued to watch the group.

Aang did as he was told and with some fluid yet forceful movements with his body and sent a strong gust of wind towards the robed groups and removed the covers form their heads and what they saw had Zuko surprised. The Fire Lord recognized the entire group as the same hostages that he was planning to rescue.

"What the?" Aang said a puzzled expression on his face.

"Where are they?" Zuko demaned, as he saw his solders ran out and began to assist the now free hostages. With out saying a word Aang used his air bending and with the aid of his glider, he flew into the walled market only to find that the area was completely empty.

"Where did they go?" Zuko said, as he came up to the avatar ans saw the empty space. Aang began to search the area for any signs or clues as to what could have happened to Hong and his men, while Zuko ordered his solders to assist the avatar and search for clues as well.

"I FOUND SOMETHING!" a solder called out from one of the buildings. Alerted by his call, every one there ran to see what he had found and when they arrived, they were met by a large hole in the floor that lead into a dark tunnel.

"They never intended to surrender," Zuko growled, "the bastard lied to me and escaped! They could be miles away by now!"

"Maybe not," Aang replied, as he bent down and began to look over the soil, "this tunnel had dug not too long ago."

"Meaning?' Zuko asked curiously.

"Meaning that there may still be a chance to catch up with them." Aang stated as he moved in and jumped into the hole and into the tunnel, " I going to see if I can't catch up with them."

"Just be careful down there!" Zuko called out as he saw Aang run off and vanished into the darken tunnel. "Yang, gather your men and tell them we are going to assist the avatar."

"Sir?" Yang asked curiously.

"Just do it!" Zuko demanded, to which Yang obeyed and ran off to get his men ready.

Zuko was not about to let these terrorist get away from him, this had to end and he was going to end it one way or the other.


	14. Chapter 14

_**The Siege: pt.3**_

Hong couldn't believe his luck, as he and the other members of his group exited the tunnel and walked into an abandon area of the capitol's port area. It was just hours ago that he had met with Fire Lord Zuko and demanded that a ship be given to them and that it take them back to the Earth Kingdom, or else the hostages that they had taken would be harmed. Hong knew that the Fire Lord would have no choice but to submit to his demands, seeing that Zuko was the type willing to do anything to ensure the safety of his people. But Hong also knew that Zuko would was not about to let he and his group out of the Fire Nation and get away so easily.

Hong knew that Zuko would try to lay some kind of trap to capture, if not kill them and Hong knew that there was nothing that would stop an enraged fire fender from seeking revenge for the attacks on Ember Island and the capitol. But Hong and his group had a plan for just this sort of situation, they knew that during their mission that there may come a time when they would be surrounded and they would need a way to escape before they could be caught. That was while Hong ordered that a tunnel be dug and that it lead to the port area just in case Zuko decided that a full on assault was the best course of action. But Zuko thought better of it, he met with the militant leader in an attempt to end the crisis peacefully and before any one else got hurt. All the while Hong had his men dig out a tunnel using earth bending so that they could make an easy escape if need be.

But the real genius of his plan came when it was time for he and his group to make their way towards the port with their hostages in tow. But instead of making the long walk to the port where a possible trap awaited them, they dressed up the some hostages in there uniforms and tied swords to their hands in such a way that it looked like that they were holding them to the necks of the other hostages that were with them. With their faces covered with masks and all eyes focused on the false Fuchou, the real group made their escape through the tunnel and towards the port. Now they could acquire a vessel of their choosing and make their way back to the Earth Kingdom where they would not only be treated as heroes, but begin to plan possible future attacks on the Fire Nation.

"Hurry up! We are going to destroy the tunnel once every one is out!" one of the Fuchou members called out to the men as he helped them out of the tunnel.

"Be Quiet!" Hau snapped, as he oversaw the movement of the men, "do you want the Fire Nation know that we are here?"

"Just hurry up," Hong added, "the scouts have found a coal carrier we can use."

"Really?" Hau asked, as he walked up to Hong, "What's the name?"

"Does it matter? By this time next week we will be in the Earth Kingdom, seen as heroes and patriots to our people." Hong stated as he rested a had on his friend's shoulder, "Why do you care what's the name?"

"No reason, I was just curious that's all." Hau replied, as he turned away from his friend and continued to over see the evacuation of the men from the tunnel.

Within a few minutes the last of the Fuchou had exited the the tunnel, as couple men turned towards the tunnel and were about to seal it to ensure that any one that may have been following then would only find a dead end. But before they could do the deed a mighty gust of air knocked the men onto the ground, as a shadowy figure flew out and landed on it's feet. Alerted by the commotion, every one looked to see just what had happened and when they did, they were met with the sight of the Avatar standing there with a look of anger mixed with disgust.

"Well...well...well... The Fire Lord's lap dog has finally decided to grace us with his presence." Hong greeted Aang with a teasing tone, as he walk to the front of his group, "I am guessing that your master sent you to stop us?"

"Have you any idea just how many innocent people you have hurt in the past few weeks?" Aang said, trying his best to keep his temper in check.

"Believe me avatar, there was nothing innocent about them." Hong replied as he walked up to the avatar and stared him down, "You know as well as I do that the Fire Nation is guilty of crimes against the rest of the world. But instead of punishing them for what they have done, you allowed them to live there lives as if nothing happened. You of all people should know what kind of people they are after what they did to your people."

Aang took a moment to gather up his thoughts before he said, "Yes I know that because of the Fire Nation I am the last of my kind, but that was over a hundred years ago and though I can't change the past I can not dwell on it. Those that are responsible for destroying your lives will be punished and I will see to it that the do, but this is not they way to do it."

"Funny, thanks to me and my group the Fire Nation finally knows what it is like to be ravaged by war. They know how it feels to live under the constant threat of attack and how it feels to be defenseless against an unstoppable foe who knows no mercy. While you only talk about forgetting the past and forgiveness." Hong countered.

"But that is the only way the world can move on and look forward to a better future." Aang said with a pleading tone, "You all must learn to forgive."

"You are a very niave little boy." Hong taunted, "Have you not notice that the rest of the world still hates the Fire Nation for what it did? Hundreds of thousands dead, farm lands and forest destroyed to a point where it will take centuries for them to recover and while the rest of the world suffers the people of the Fire Nation live in a blissful arrogance, unaware of the suffering that it has caused."

"But that still does not give you the right to kill innocent civilians!" Aang snapped, angered by just how Hong showed no remorse for what he and his men had done.

"And just what are you going to do about us?" Hau interjected, "Even if you do stop us, it would not stop the world from praising what we did, nor would change the general perception of the Fire Nation. The world will forever see the Fire Nation as a country made up of evil creatures and heartless beings that only want to destroy. Any news of the Fire Nation's misfortune gives the world great joy, or have you forgotten that "accident on Wu Tong island?"

Aang's eyes widened and said in shock, "You were responsible for that?"

"One of our proudest achievements if you ask me," Hau said with a smile, "It was not easy taking that ship and killing its crew, but the end result was worth it."

"That is ENOUGH!" Aang roared in anger as a gust of wind sprang up and knocked all of the men on the ground, "All of you shall be punished for what you did!"

"Go ahead," Hong said as he got back on to his feet, "There is no court in the Earth Kingdom that would charge us and as for us face the courts in the Fire Nation.. well... lets just say that our supporters would not let that happen."

A puzzled look flashed upon the avatar's face before he remembered what general Chao had told him about the Army of Fuchou's influence over the Earth Kingdom. Of how there were many nobles and military officers in the Earth Kingdom that were very sympathetic towards the group despite being considered a militant organization by the government. "Even so, I will not allow you to continue this blood lust of yours." Aang declared, as he brought his staff up and went into a fighting posture.

But as Aang was about to let loose with his powers he was forced to dodge several iron fist that flew towards him, causing him to do every thing in his ability to avoid being struck with the deadly projectiles. When Aang recovered from the attack and looked towards the group, he saw that a large number of them were now dressed in the same uniforms that were once worn by the now infamous Dai Li.

"Did I mention that a large portion of my men were once Dai Li agents?" Hong said with a hit of amusement in his voice as he looked on at the now stunned avatar, "I think you should get reacquainted with them while the rest of us go in search of a vessel. You have fun now." and with that the former Dai Li let lose with another barrage of iron fist at avatar, while the remainder of the group went off into the night.

Aang only had seconds to react using his air bending to to launch himself into the air, over the Dai Li's and letting lose with with a furious gust of wind that knocked over some of them. But the Dai Li were quick to recover and struck back again, this time one of them managed to clip Aang and sent him spinning in the air. But the nimble avatar recovered quickly and launched a number of fire balls at his would be assailants as he managed to catch to of them off guard and burned off all of their clothes. Leaving the two of them both stunned and stark naked, long enough for Aang to use his earth bending and trap them in a pillar of soft earth and rock.

But there were still many more Dai Li to deal with and all of them did charged Aang, moving swiftly as the advanced on him. But once again using his earth bending skills to his advantage Aang sent up multiple pillars of earth in the Dai Li's path, sending a number of them flying into the air and into the near by water. Quickly following up his attack and using the near by sea water, he sent a massive tidal wave crashing into the remaining Dai Li and into a nearby building. In all the fight had lasted only about 2 minutes and in the end...

Avatar : 01

Dai Li : 00

With the Dai Li finally subdued Aang could now focus on capturing Hong and the rest of his men. With a heavy sigh Aang ran in the direction he saw them go and hoped that he could catch them before any one else could get hurt.

For what seemed like hours Aang ran along the docks, all the while his mind working overtime and trying to figure out just how he was going to stop these fanatics from getting away. But as he rounded a corner he soon realized that capturing them was no longer a problem, for now in front of with their hands on their heads and standing perfectly still were in fact Hong and the rest of his men. While in front of them were about a hundred or more Fire Nation solders, all armed with cross bows and backed up with a dozen or so tanks.

"By order of his grace Fire Lord Zuko, you are all hear by under arrest for crimes against the Fire Nation and its people!" a young officer declared with a voice that commanded respect. "You are all ordered to lay down your arms and surrender at once or we will open fire on you!"

Every one in the group looked at Hong to see just what he had to say, but all he did was motion to them to lay down their arms and surrender with out a fight. They were a bit hesitant at first, but one by one they all disarmed themselves and allowed the Fire Nation solders to take them into custody. The rein of terror that was the Army of Fuchou had finally come to an end in the Fire Nation.

As Aang walked up to the solders, he soon recognized the one who had spoke as being Colonel Yang. "How did you know that they would be down here?" the avatar asked the young army colonel.

"The truth is, we didn't." Yang began to explain, "Fire Lord Zuko had deployed troops all over the city just in case things went wrong. This group was already posted on the docks to provide security but when we found the tunnel Zuko ordered that I send my men here to reinforce the garrison here just in case they tried to steal another ship. It looks like that his hunch was right."

"Indeed." Aang replied, as he looked on at the Fire Nation's newest prisoners. But as he looked on at the faces of the now defeated Fuchou he noticed that all of them had rather calm looks on there faces, something you would not expect from a group of militants that were now facing the prospect of sending the rest of there lives in a Fire Nation prison. Normally one would expect to see a look of despair and fear on some ones face when in such a situation, but these men looked as if they were not afraid by the fact that they may never see home again.

But it was the look on Hong's face that really had Aang on edge. It was a look of pure evil and confidence, mixed in with a smile that said he knew something but what, Aang did not know. All the avatar could do was let that thought sink in as began to help Yang and his men round up Hong, Hau and the rest of the Army of Fuchou.

The following morning the Fire Nation would wake up to the news that the ones that had caused so much death and destruction in there nation had been captured and there would be massive celebrations to suit, but that euphoria would be short lived as both they and that avatar would soon learn just how much the Army of Fuchou really had in the Earth Kingdom.

_**((( ))) ((( )))**_

_A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a bit short. But stay tuned, ther Saga ends in the next chapter. PLEASE R&R and tell me what you would like to see happen to Hong, Hau and the rest of the Fuchou. _


	15. Chapter 15

_**Epilogue **_

By the next morning news of the capture had spread through out the Fire Nation capitol and by midday, dozens of messenger hawks were already en route to the other cites within in the Fire Nation with the news. Clean up efforts were already underway in the market district to remove the debris that had been caused by the Fuchou's temporary occupation of the area, while the bodies of those that had been killed were removed and placed in the city morgue so that they could be given a proper burial on a later date. The group that were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians all over the Fire Nation and filling the entire population with an unfamiliar sense of fear had finally been captured and were now being held in a secure prison camp that had at one time held Earth Kingdom P.O.W.s during the war.

Many in the Fire Nation thought that with the capture of these men, they would be given thee harshest punishments that the Fire Nation had to offer and that justice would finally be served. But what happened next had every one stunned and not even the avatar nor Zuko could prevent it from happening.

One week after the events in the capitol took place, a messenger hawk arrived from Ba Sing Se with a message demanding that Hong and his men be released into the custody of the Earth Kingdom government. Stating that they were Earth Kingdom citizens and that they would not be given a fair trial in the Fire Nation. Not surprisingly Zuko as well as every other member of his court were enraged by this request and were unwilling to had over Hong or any of his men. But then another message came in warning that if they did not hand them over for trial, the Earth Kingdom would not allow any more trade missions to visit cities. But if he were to hand them over then several cities in the Earth Kingdom would agree to open up their ports and markets to Fire Nation merchants.

Obviously Zuko did not want to see these men go free but with his nation's economy in a fragile state and trade needed to stabilize it, Zuko no other choice but to bow down to the Earth Kingdom's demand and hand Hong and his men over. Much to the disapproval and dismay of his royal court which was now showing signs of fracturing, when a couple of his advisers resigned their postings in protest of Zuko's decision.

In an attempt to help his embattled friend, the avatar went to the Earth Kingdom capitol to speak with the Earth King and find out just why he had sent the request. But what the king told Aang had the last air bender in shock. The king had sent the request after a large number of his own senators as well as a number of nobles had basically forced him to do so, saying that if he allowed these men to be imprisoned in the Fire Nation then they would ensure that any and all future trade missions from the Fire Nation would be blocked from entering any towns or villages in the Earth Kingdom. Not to mention that the the king would meet resistance regarding any decision he made when it came to reestablishing positive relations with the Fire Nation. It was clear to see that just like Zuko, the Earth King had been forced into a corner.

_**((( )))**_

Two weeks later a Fire Nation troop carrier named _'Warrior's Pride' _ pulled into the port of Ba Sing Se, making it the first Fire Navy vessel to do so since the end of the occupation. On the port, hundreds if not thousands of Earth Kingdom citizens and solders watched as the vessel slowly pulled alongside the pier, as the dock workers some what reluctantly tied down the vessel. Then as the vessel came to a stop, the bow section opened up as a ramp was deployed and lowered onto the shore.

Then, the crowd that was assembled began to let loose loud cheers and whoops as members of the Army of Fuchou, the same ones that had attacked the Fire Nation just weeks before, emerged from the vessel and began to walk down the ramp towards the cheering crowds. The crew of the naval vessel could only look on in shock and disbelief, as these murderers and criminals were greeted as if they were heroes coming home from some great crusade. In the celebratory crowd, all the men were happily embraced by the cheering crowd. Women would hug and kiss them, while small children would give them small pastries and trinkets for them to enjoy.

But the celebrations were cut short, as solders came in and hurried the men towards the steel plated carriages that would take them to prison. Within a few days of the group's arrival, the trial began in the main court house in Ba Sing Se. Lawyers from both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom pressed their cases in front of a council of five neutral judges from the Water Tribes, in an attempt to either ensure the men freedom or prove their guilt.

But as the trial progressed, the lawyers from the Fire Nation began to notice that the Judges on the stand would tend to side with the Earth Kingdom lawyers more often and in some cases hinder their abilities to do their duties and make their case against the defendants. But the final slap in the face came at the end of the two month long trial when the council dropped all charges against all but 2 of the Fuchou, saying they were nothing more than foot solders following orders and were not the real masterminds of the attack and as a result, were all released. Much to the err of the Fire Nation. But Hau and Hong were not so lucky.

After another month of deliberation, both men were given life sentences for the roles they had played in the attacks and they were to serve their sentences in the city's infamous Lake Laogai prison compound. Formally a base of operations for the Dai Li, the facility was converted into a prison facility to hold members of the now defunct group that had been captured after the war. Now it would be the new home for the Earth Kingdom's more notorious citizens.

When asked if he had any last word before he was sent to prison, Hong only said "I have no regrets for what I have done. As far as I am concerned what I did was just and I am sure that every one in this court room did not even shed a single tear for the Fire Nation. You may say that I am a monster, but to the people of the Earth Kingdom that suffer today because of the Fire Nation, I am a hero." With that statement, Hong and his accomplice allowed themselves to be shackled and taken away to there new home.

_**((( ))) **_

A year had gone by since the events in the Fire Nation capitol and Fire Lord Zuko was now getting back to the business of running his scarred nation. But now, things were more difficult than before. Now he had deal with the growing number of persons that were critical of his decision to send the Fuchou prisoners back to the Earth Kingdom, not to mention deal with the fall out that came when it was learned that only two out of the five hundred or so men were actually charged with the attacks. If they had only known just how had it was for him to agree to do such a thing, or that the Earth Kingdom had threatened to suspend any and all trade with the Fire Nation if he had not done so. He did what he did in an attempt to ensure his country's survival, but he doubted that a bunch of nobles that were all demanding his head would listen to what he had to say.

As the Fire Lord sat at his desk and read through the many reports he had, he heard some one enter his study. "Working hard again I see?" Mai said, as she walked up to her boyfriend and sat on his desk.

"Yea... I... I was just finishing up." Zuko replied quickly, as he began to clear up his cluttered desk. Mai sighed a bit and said, " Zuko... we have been through this before, you can't continue to chew your self out like this. You had no choice."

"I know that." Zuko replied as he began to rub his temples, "That man was right, it was our fault that this happened."

"What do you mean? Who was right?" Mai asked in a curious tone.

"Hong," Zuko replied, "He said that it was the Fire Nation's fault that he and his men did what he did. And he is right."

"Zuko, you can to let this man get to you." Mai told him, giving her lover one of her famous glares.

"But he was right Mai, don't you understand?" Zuko countered, "At the end of the war many war criminals were allowed to go free because of my unwillingness to take action against them. I was so worried about being overthrown that I forgot the promises that I made to the war's victims when they were released. They should have gotten the justice they deserved but I failed to give it to them and in the end, hundreds id not thousands of our people paid for my mistake."

"But you did not have much of a choice, they threatened to move against you if you did go after them." Mai tried to reassure him, as she got off the desk and walked up to her boy friend.

Zuko looked into her eyes and saw that she way very much concerned about him and replied, "I know, but that does not change the fact that I failed in the regard. But I can try to do the right thing." and with that, Zuko held up a rolled up scroll.

"What is it?" Mai asked. "This is a list of all the former military officers from both the army and navy that the Earth Kingdom demanded that we handed over. I intend to hunt these individuals down and have them arrested so that they could finally answer for what they had done."

"But aren't you afraid that they would use their influence to have the military rise up against you?" Mai asked him.

"Not any more. I spoke to Aang before he left and he said that he would be the one to bring them in and I doubt that anyone in their right mind would dare to take on the avatar." Zuko explained, before he got up from his seat and said "I am not going to fail my... our people again."

"As far as I am concerned, you never did." Mai replied, as she came in and planted a small kiss on his lips and said, "Now... I want you to get to the dinning room now and eat your dinner before it gets cold and if you do, you can have desert."

"Oh? And just what is for desert?"Zuko asked curiously. All Mai did was give him a seductive smile and playfully traced her finger along his jaw line before the walked out of the room. Zuko smiled a bit himself and after putting away some of his documents, he made his way to dinner with his girl friend.

_**((( ))) **_

Meanwhile somewhere underneath lake Laogai, a lone figure sat in what was a well furnished room. On a near by table, a meal that was fit for a king was laid out while a full bottle of cactus juice sat next to it. The room was rather large and well lit, a far cry from what the other chambers in the facility looked like. Its lone occupant sat in a chair as if he was waiting for some one and was dresses as if he was about to go on a long trip.

Suddenly, the only door leading to the chamber opened and two figures walked in. The first person was his right hand man when he was in the Fire Nation, while the second one was dressed in variant of a Earth Kingdom military officer's uniform and had a strange symbol on the left side of his chest.

"It is so nice for you to come and see me off, General Choa." the man said, as he got up from his chair and walked over to the men.

"It is the least I can do for the man that is a hero of the Earth Kingdom." the general replied with a smile, as he took Hong's hand and shook it. "The operation went better than we had hopped."

"Indeed" Hau added, "thanks to our little 'invasion' the Fire Lord's seat of power has been weakened and his people are beginning to question his rule."

"Not to mention that the current divide in his court has has become bigger." Chao said with a smile, "Form what our operatives has said, there are many within the Fire Nation that are not to happy with Zuko right now."

"And as long there is turmoil in the Fire Nation, it is less likely that they would ever be a threat to our nation." Chao said as he looked over to the meal that was sitting on the table. "You did not eat?"

"I do not like to eat heavily when I know I have a long trip ahead of me." Hong explained to the general. Chao nodded and took out three large bags of gold saying, "Here you go as I promised, there is a carriage waiting for you when you leave the compound. Tell me, where are you going after they drop you off at the docks?"

"I know of some places that I can hide out for the rest of my days, so do not worry about me." Hong told the general.

"Understood. Either way I am not to have any contact with you any way after tonight." Chao replied, as he poured out three glasses of cactus juice and passed then to Hong and Hau. For the next few minutes they all drank with each other before the three of them left the room and closed the door behind them.

The Army of Fuchou had won.

_**The End**_


End file.
